


Subject 219: Maxine Caulfield

by StefiDelly



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, F/F, Lab Rat AU, Science Experiment AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2018-12-29 18:51:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12091227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StefiDelly/pseuds/StefiDelly
Summary: Forced by her stepfather to work under him as security at some facility that studies psychics and supernaturals, Chloe thought the crappy graveyard shift would be boring as hell.She thought wrong, of course.[Pricefield; Lab Rat AU; Max is a subject at the facility, Chloe is a guard; Potential trigger warnings: Alcohol Abuse/Violence/Blood/Self-Harm Mention/Suicide Mention]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Subject 204](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10653057) by [StefiDelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StefiDelly/pseuds/StefiDelly). 



> Just a warning that this will probably get dark and angsty as we get deeper into things. But it'll get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short af piece for now since I'm just doing an impulsive thing and seeing what happens. What happens here takes place in the universe of my other fic, [Subject 204 ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10653057/chapters/23573199), but there's no need to read that to understand what happens here. I'm just doing a fieldtest and playing around, I guess. If there's enough interest in this AU, I'll add more to it, but my priority is to finish Subject 204 first. But when that's done, I may have time to play with this some more.

The empty halls were dark and cold. There was an eeriness to it that sent a chill up Chloe's spine, as much as she'd rather not admit that to anyone, not even herself. After all, what would David say if Chloe said that she didn't want to take the graveyard shifts because the facility was  _creepy_  at night?

That was just dumb as shit and it was bad enough that David already  _clearly_  perceived Chloe as dumb as shit. No amount of helping out in the garage was going to change that dipshit's mind, so why bother trying? After all, just because Chloe smoked pot and dropped out of school didn't mean she was an idiot.

Well…  _maybe_.

Maybe dropping out of school wasn't her finest moment. Particularly when her lack of money became painfully inconvenient, keeping her from engaging in her miscellaneous  _hobbies_. That and money got tight for Mom, with the whole  _trying to support a useless daughter_  thing.

And that was how Chloe now found herself wandering the admittedly creepy halls of Prescott Research Institute. It was a bright enough place during the day, bustling with activity as the employees did their science-y things, poking and prodding at psychics or typing intensely into their machines. Though she would never say it out loud, Chloe  _did_  envy the scientists who got the chance to research and study stuff as fascinating and phenomenal as  _psychics_. She was curious about it, to say the least. But she  _did_  lose her opportunity to be one of them when she decided that school was useless.

"Could have had it all, Price." It was dumb, talking to herself. But in a place this dark and quiet at this  _dead_  time, Chloe had to find  _some_  way to stay sane. Even if that meant acting a little _ins_ ane. Like talking to herself. "Could be raking it in as one of the scientists but instead you're stuck counting pennies as David's probationary pet guard." Grumbling to herself, Chloe finished up her rounds on this particular floor and pressed the down button on the elevator.

There were a few other people on the other floors, either scientists working late shifts, interns trying to go above and beyond or unlucky rookie guards like Chloe.

But most of the world was enjoying the comfort of their beds right about now and Chloe resented them for it. David, especially. He got to enjoy cuddling up to Mom and getting his stupid greasy hands all over her while Chloe was stuck here, bored out of her mind.

And just a  _little_  creeped out.

"Damn you, David." Chloe muttered to herself, if only to break the uncomfortable quiet as the elevator opened up to one of the lower floors. "Damn you for leaving me with the crappy, boring shift while the rest of the human world is chilling or partying right now."

She pointed the flashlight in front of her as she walked down the hallway. This floor seemed deserted. None of the rooms had their lights on. At least in the upper floors there was some semblance of activity. Here, it was just totally  _dead_.

It was so dark, her mind was starting to fill in the gaps with imagined figures and that just added to the whole creepiness factor. Without her issued, heavy-duty,  _bulky as hell_  flashlight, Chloe would probably be walking into walls. The only other sources of light were the glow of control panels next to the doors.

The hairs at the back of her neck were prickling and she tried to shake it off. There was just something about this area that felt so  _off_.

With a huff, she pushed herself forward.

It was tempting to turn around and just go back to the upper floors, but David had given Chloe a good long earful about being thorough and familiarizing herself with the facility. If she didn't know this place's floorplans better than her own tattoo by the time he came in for his morning shift, there would be no end to the nagging.

So she focused instead on walking owards, familiarizing herself with whatever she saw.

"What even is this floor?" Upon closer inspection, the doors revealed themselves to be heavy, with small windows at eyelevel and a panel of some sort at shoulder level. "Those look more like prison doors than-"

Chloe gasped, catching sight of someone in one of the rooms.

Fumbling with her flashlight she lifted it up and pointed it at the thick glass. The beam of light cut through the darkness of the room, throwing the figure inside into the harsh contrast of light and shadow.

Her hair was sticking out at odd ends and what looked like blood could be seen on her nose and hands. A thin fabric almost like a hospital gown was draped over her scrawny frame. And as the girl turned her head to squint at the light, Chloe felt her heart skip a beat.

" _Max_ …?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This can also be found on my [ tumblr, stefi-delly. ](http://stefidelly.com/post/165324489355/this-is-a-short-af-piece-for-now-since-im-just) Feel free to hit me up over there or bug me if you want more of this. I haven't fully nailed down all the details yet, but I have a bunch of ideas for this AU and I feel like it would be fun to play with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm blown away by how much attention my little comic and ficlet got (on here, tumblr and ff) so lol I had to sit down and nail down the worldbuilding and backstory. I've more or less got a plan for how this will flow. I normally post much longer chapters than these, but I think for now we're okay with starting with short chapters first as I get a feel of the characters and as I give you guys little tastes of this world.
> 
> Also, I made a collection for the subjectverse if you're curious about this universe and wanna skim the other works that happen in thus AU. For now as I post this, it's mostly Once Upon a Time fandom pieces, but we'll see where things go from here. I'm hoping to come up with or collab on more fics for other fandoms that can blend into this universe.

"C-" Max's throat was dry and tight, the word painfully forcing its way through constricted walls. "Chloe?"

It was hard to see, with the bright beam of the flashlight piercing her eyes and just about blinding her. Lifting her bloody hand to shield her face from the light, she turned to get a better look, still not quite sure if she could truly see what she was seeing.

"Is that…" It was hard to hear through the thick door, but the guard's voice was faltering. "Is that  _really_ you?"

With a pounding head and unsteady legs, Max forced herself to stand up. The pain felt like knives and hammers forcing their way through her skull, straight into her brain at every angle. She stumbled as her cell spun in and out of focus. The light blinded her eyes and the agony was crippling, forcing her to lean against the bedframe with her free hand.

Bile rose up her tight throat. Her stomach lurched. A clumsy step made her knee buckle under her, but she caught herself and leaned against the wall, breaths heavy and wheezy. Max squinted at the tiny window and forced herself to keep going.

Seeming to realize how much of an effect the flashlight had, the guard angled it downwards and to the side, finally out of Max's eyes.

Gritting her teeth and wiping at her bloody nose, Max moved closer to the door, keeping a hand on the nearest wall to maintain her balance as the floor continued to wobble underneath her bare feet. It felt like an eternity, taking step by dizzying step before she finally made it to the door.

And with her eyes adjusting to the change in light, Max saw that it really  _was_ her.

 _Chloe_ was here.

The ground threatened to swallow Max up as she fought to stay upright. Darkness was eating away at the corners of her vision and her whole body was heavy with exhaustion, bogged down by the strain of intensive testing.

"Chloe." Max felt her eyes warming up as she took in the sight. The blue hair was still there, but where once was a cocky smirk, there now was a look of utter shock. There seemed to be some mild bags under her eyes, and her face was narrower, older. But other than that, she looked so much better than when they had last been together.

Choking on her words, Max shook her head and pressed a hand against the glass. "You're  _alive_."

* * *

This couldn't be real.

Chloe was practically pressing her face against the glass, struggling to take in the sight before her. "H-how… How…"

This wasn't real. It was a trick. Some psychic was messing around and projecting an image to Chloe, flashing a vision of something familiar. Some _one_  familiar. There were psychics that could distort things and implant hallucinations.

That's what this one was doing, fooling Chloe into letting her out. It was just an elaborate form of manipulation and Chloe knew herself to be smarter than that. Besides, David would be murderous if he found out Chloe let a subject out just because it put on a show of resembling a dear departed best friend.

"No." Chloe shook her head. "This is some fucked up illusion."

"Chloe,  _no_." The subject now had both her hands pressed against the glass, and it was hard to look away.

Her hair was shorter and her face was different. Older, thinner. Gaunt, even. Eyes framed by deep circles, cheeks starved and hollow. Even in the limited light, it wasn't hard to see how thin she was under the gown. Her arms looked small and frail as she clearly struggled to keep herself standing. It was also pulling at Chloe's heart to see the drying blood on the girl's shirt and hands.

But there was also still so much of the girl that looked so  _familiar_.

The freckles were there. Even that slight bit of overbite that reminded Chloe of a rabbit. And those eyes. Those deep blue eyes, always so penetrating. Always wide and open, absorbing everything and projecting emotions more clearly than an open book.

"I saw you." Chloe shook her head as the distant memories came rushing back to her, threatening to pound through the thick walls she kept around her mind. It was years ago, but flashes of it came back so clearly that she could almost feel like she was still there. Almost feel the blood in her hands. Almost feel the shock of being kicked out of a moving car mere seconds before  _it_ happened. "I was at  _both_ funerals."

Fighting back the tears threatening to fill her eyes, Chloe clenched her jaw and took a step back. "This is a trick. Quit fucking with me!"

"Please," The subject's pale face was so close to the glass her breath was fogging over it. "It's me, Chloe. It's really me, and I'm so,  _so_ glad you're alive."

"Shut it!" Chloe lashed out, slamming her palm against the door, making the subject flinch away from the window. "Just… just go back to your bed, 219." It felt wrong, distancing herself from this person by addressing her as just a number. It's what David and most of the guards did and it always made Chloe uncomfortable.

"Hey." Chloe cleared her throat and rapped on the glass with her knuckles. "Step away from the door, 219. Don't make me come in there." As she steeled her voice, Chloe hated herself for how the subject's teary eyes widened with a look of pain. Still unsteady on her feet, the girl stumbled backwards until she was on her bed.

The whole time, her eyes never left Chloe. There was a depth of emotion in them, full of betrayal and pain.

It was unnerving.

"Max is dead." Chloe whispered the words to herself, reminding herself of reality. There was a funeral and everything. Whatever was inside that cell couldn't  _possibly_ be the real Max. Even it  _did_ go through the trouble of creating the illusion of an aged-up starved Max in maybe her twenties, instead of the wacky kid that Chloe had last seen. "She's  _dead_."

But as she continued her rounds, she couldn't get her mind off of those tired, sad eyes and how they lit up with relief when recognition dawned in them at the sight of Chloe.

Some night this was turning out to be. Chloe knew she was going to be passing by the nearest store on the way home. Booze would help clear her head enough to pass out and forget about this whole mess.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear your theories about how this universe is a thing and what you're expecting to happen next 8D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a much longer chapter for you all! Thanks again to all y'all who read and review. You're great. This chapter will show a bit more of what reality is like for Max, and also a bit for Chloe. (Oh and no chapter art for this one yet, but I updated the previous chapter with art in the footnote so you can check that out if you haven't yet)
> 
> Also, I think I should warn you all that there may be some triggers in this story. It'll get pretty intense. If blood, violence, self-harm and alcohol may trigger you, I recommend you proceed with caution as this story progresses.
> 
> Still, for how dark this is going to get, I also want us to work towards a satisfying ending. The suffering will be worth it in the end. I want that for both you as a reader and myself as a writer. I want this ride to be worth it.
> 
> OKAY I'M DONE RAMBLING ENJOY THE CHAPTER.

With her shift coming to a close, Chloe spent the last half hour going through the maps and notes in the guards' locker room.  _Partly_ because it was her job to know the layout,  _mostly_ because she wanted to figure out where she ended up going and who that subject was. Maybe there were notes somewhere about that particular floor. Hopefully even something with details on the subjects so Chloe could finally put her mind at ease and tell herself that the being in that cell  _wasn't_ Max.

She first looked through the guide listing the building's different floor levels.

* * *

6: Admin Offices

5: Cafeteria; 3nd Floor of Library

4: Low-Level Examination Rooms and 2nd Floor of Library

3: Library and Research Rooms

2: Conference Rooms

M: Garden and Lounge

G: Lobby/Reception

B1: Parking Lot

B2: Parking Lot; Control Room; Guard's Locker Rooms; Staff Cafeteria

B3: Mid-Level Examination Rooms and Laboratories

B4: High-Level Examination Rooms and Laboratories

B5: Subject's Rooms

* * *

So she had apparently gone down to the subject's cells, thinking it was another Exam Room and Labs floor. It was a humiliatingly rookie mistake to be as surprised as she was to wind up on B5 without checking on the map.

"Good job, Price." Even if it wasn't dark and creepy anymore, Chloe was still talking to herself. Hopefully the other guards on duty weren't within earshot to hear her.

Adjusting her cap, Chloe next went through the floor plan for B5. It had the layout of the different rooms the subjects were being kept in.

Rooms.

Those weren't rooms, those were  _cells_.

Feeling her stomach churn, Chloe looked more closely at the floor plan, searching for something,  _anything_ that would give her some information about the subjects being detained down there. Instead, all she had were the numbers assigned to the subjects. Just that the girl was called _Subject 219_.

No name. Not even a first name. She was just a  _number_.

"Okay." Chloe suppressed a sigh and decided to instead check the manual. She remembered seeing some notes about the subjects at the back of the book. Information meant to give the guards a better understanding about how to subdue and control their charges.

* * *

**Subject 219**

_Chronikinetic (Time Manipulation)_

_Room:_  B519

_Security Measures:_

Ability-blocking cuffs; restraints when necessary (handcuffs or leather straps depending on examination to be conducted)

_Safety Measures:_

When handling subject, it is recommended to wear the ability-shielding equipment unless otherwise specified by the scientist in charge of the particular examination.

_WARNING: Subject's abilities could allow her to escape with ease if ability-blocking cuffs are deactivated without appropriate safety measures. Be very careful when manipulating the settings of the subject's cuffs. Consult scientist or technician if cuffs appear to be malfunctioning or if you experience strange feelings of déjà vu around this subject._

* * *

This didn't confirm nor deny that the subject could really be Max. It did, clear up whether or not the subject was capable of projecting illusions. Since she wasn't, that meant that the appearance she showed Chloe was presumably the girl's  _actual_ appearance.

But even then, Chloe couldn't see how that girl could  _possibly_ be Max.

Closing the handbook once she got to the confidentiality warnings at the back, Chloe was about to grumble to herself when a figure at the door startled her. With a squeak and a jump, she dropped the handbook.

"Finally learning to make yourself useful and obey orders?"

"Jesus!" Chloe felt her face flush as she picked the handbook up and put it back on the table. "Good job on sneaking up on me, step-douche."

" _Chloe_." His voice was a low warning.

It took physical effort for Chloe to hold back the smartass retorts she really wanted to make. She just had to think of Mom and remember that working here and earning money and being a useful daughter was all for  _her_. Not for this asshole. It just so happened that excelling at this job meant taking orders from him.

"Was I supposed to go to the lower floors or just check out the labs and exam rooms?" Choosing to instead ask a valid question, Chloe lifted her chin and felt a rush of pride at how the words were only  _slightly_ peppered with her snarky tone. "Coz I also patrolled the lower floors last night."

David's brows rose up briefly as his face registered surprise, then his expression relaxed to a more neutral look to accompany his shrug. "I was just expecting you to do your rounds in the upper floors, but if you went down that's fine too. You still need more briefing though, before you can be allowed to handle the subjects and interact with them."

The security measures ruffled Chloe, but she reminded herself that all these guidelines were in place to protect both the subjects in the cells and the scientists and staff outside the cells. That, and she vaguely recalled hearing in the news something about a similar facility that had a massive breakout.

Something that bad would  _not_ look good for this place.

Although the thought of the Prescotts coming under fire because of fuckups in their own facility?  _That_ would be one for the books and Chloe could almost smirk at the fantasy of it.

"What?"

"What?"

David's frown deepened. "You better not be high and spacing out on me, or so help me-"

"Jesus Christ, David, I'm clean." Chloe's blood boiled and she had to clench her hands into fists to keep herself under control. "I'll even pee in a fucking cup for you."

For a few tense, quiet seconds, they just glowered at each other. In the silence between them, Chloe could feel her heart pounding in her ears and it took every effort and ounce of self-control to hold back the urge to lash out and tear right into David's fragile ego.

"That's not necessary." David finally grumbled out his response and turned to start heading for the changing room.

"Wait." Chloe spoke up before she could rethink the decision. "Are any of our subjects outpatients or are they all being detained here?"

Raising an eyebrow, David responded in a tone snappier than it needed to be. "What's it to you?"

"I'm just asking! God!" Chloe's shoulders were tense and her jaw was sore from gritting and grinding her teeth. "And by the way wouldn't knowing that shit make me a more effective Davidlette?" As much as calling herself a miniature David was meant to jab at him, Chloe felt like she took damage from that quip as well. Who even  _wanted_ to consider themselves a mini-David?

"I mean if I actually knew which subjects are... y'know…" Recovering from the poorly chosen snap, Chloe pushed herself forward- both physically, closer to David, and figuratively, continuing to strengthen her point. " _…not_  supposed to be walking around outside, wouldn't that make me a more effective guard?"

"Fine!" David was red in the face, growing more and more riled up, but he caught himself and straightened up.

He adjusted his cap and lowered his voice to a more neutral tone. "There aren't any. All of them are being detained. Or in-patients." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever the correct term is. Some of them have visitation rights, some don't. I could forward the list to you on your next shift."

"Awesome." With a roll of her eyes, Chloe purposely avoided putting any genuine enthusiasm into the response. She started walking off to the changing room, suddenly eager to shrug off the stupid uniform. It just felt way too tight right now.

"And Chloe?"

Clenching her jaw to avoid letting out a groan, Chloe turned around. "What?"

"It's good you're taking some responsibility and initiative for once."

Awkward, and infuriating. David just wasn't going to change. Even if Chloe was putting so much fucking effort into being less of a useless layabout and more of a productive member of this stupid society. Hell, Chloe was pretty sure that even if she stopped dyeing her hair, David would still see her as a waste of space.

And when he pretended to be  _fatherly_ like that? It just came off condescending and made Chloe want to wrap her hands around his throat.

Maybe Chloe was being too hard on him and also being too stubborn to give him credit for his effort.

But when his effort was condescending and awkward, why bother giving it any credit?

"Whatever." Chloe walked past him, too tired to be in his presence any longer.

This was one long hell of a night and she just wanted it to be over.

* * *

As painful as it was to see Chloe die a thousand deaths in a thousand different ways, Max couldn't deny that it was excruciating to see the suspicion in her eyes and hear the coldness in her voice. It was normal to see that in the other guards and even in some of the scientists. That was a fact of life in this timeline that had now come to become Max's reality.

"Are you ready for today's tests, dear 219?" Dr. Jefferson's smirk was unnerving as he adjusted the headset that kept him partially immune to her rewind powers. The way Max understood his explanation of it when they first started the tests (and as each prototype improved over the years), it didn't stop Max from undoing his action with a rewind, but it allowed him to retain his memory of each action at each rewind.

Max didn't grace him with an answer, keeping her chin high while the guards strapped her arms down to the chair.

"Quiet mood today?" Dr. Jefferson raised an eyebrow at her. When Max remained silent, he rolled his eyes then made a gesture at the camera. Max recognized it. She looked down at her wrists and watched as the green light on the cuffs switched to red.

She could use her powers now.

But deep in a facility full of guards with equipment that could counter her powers, what chance did she have of escaping this pit of hell? She'd given it a couple of good tries and that ended in more than enough misery and regret.

"Let's start with something simple." Dr. Jefferson strolled over to the table in front of Max. The only item on it was a glass of water, close to the edge. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about it. Then Dr. Jefferson slid it over the edge of the table. It shattered on the floor, sending water and glass spraying at their feet.

Max hissed as she felt a shard graze her leg.

"Keep me from breaking the glass." Dr. Jefferson made a show of eyeing the guards behind Max, delivering a subtle warning to remind her of the consequences were she to decide not to cooperate.

Shifting in her seat, Max sighed and opened her hand, angling it upwards as far as the cuffs would allow. The familiar throb in her head told her that her powers were gearing up to be used. The energy started at the sides of her forehead before travelling down her shoulder, though her arm and out her hand.

The world around her slowed to a stop, blurring around her until she was focusing on just the glass. The shards and water retreated back into each other, repairing the glass until it rose back up and onto the table.

Dr. Jefferson's hand moved away from the glass and back to his side.

Max huffed as she stopped the rewind and desperately searched for a way to stop him from knocking the glass off the edge of the table.

Her hands were strapped to the chair, so she couldn't catch the glass herself, which she instinctively tried to do as Dr. Jefferson's hand moved towards the table.

"You've used your abilities." He knocked the glass over and it shattered once more. "Now what?"

"Fuck." Max cursed, and tried again, this time pushing past the feeling of hammers pounding against her head.

She wound back through the glass returning to the table, back to Jefferson disabling the blockers on her cuffs. Pain in her head increased tenfold as she struggled to rewind back beyond that point, but it felt like pushing against an unmoving wall. She strained to get past the wall, but it only increased the headache from pounding to piercing.

Unable to keep fighting past the barrier, Max stopped. She went limp against the restraints, breathing heavily and hanging her head down.

"That was definitely interesting to see." Dr. Jefferson rubbed at his beard as he drew closer to the table, once again knocking the glass over. It shattered for the third time, and Max felt another several shards graze her skin. "But the glass will still break. Interestingly, I saw what you were trying to do there."

It was hard to fight for each breath, struggling to inhale enough air to get past the tight straps around her chest and into her lungs.

"I think I want to see you try that again." Dr. Jefferson said. "See if you can push your abilities to the point of winding back beyond the moment I deactivate your cuffs."

Though the headache had dulled when she stopped straining to use her powers, Max was reluctant to try again. There was already a thick feeling in her nose that told her it was on the verge of bleeding.

"219." Dr. Jefferson put his hands on the table and leaned forward, uncomfortably close to her. "I know you're capable of more than this. Why are you performing so poorly today?"

How was she supposed to make any difference to the fate of the glass when her hands were tied and the cuffs kept her from rewinding past that point? The condescending tone agitated Max and with a huff, she gathered up the last reserves of her strength and tried again.

The glass went back to the table. Dr. Jefferson walked back to the end of the room. The cuffs were activated again.

And Max pushed past that barrier, straining between the moment in time when her cuffs were deactivated and the preceding moment she was now trying to work herself into, when the cuffs were doing their work.

Her skull was tightening itself around her brain, squeezing in the harder she tried to push.

Sweat was coating her face and she felt like nails were being pounded into her head.

But the barrier was wavering, she felt the straps coming undone, felt herself standing up. The pain was too much. The cuffs were beeping and she knew if she pushed any further, they would-

A scream tore out of Max as electricity jolted through her arms from the cuffs. She cut off her powers immediately to stop the pain from building up further.

But she was free and she had a second to take action.

Max swiped at the glass, sending it flying across the wall, where it shattered for the fourth time, but at least it was by Max's own hand now instead of Dr. Jefferson's.

The guards moved into action, grabbing her arms and shoving her into the seat. They strapped her down once more, but this time she distinctly felt like the restraints were much tighter now. It was cutting into her skin in a way it wasn't before. Her hand felt stiff and tense from the constriction.

"Interesting choice, 219." Dr. Jefferson nodded, eyeing the broken glass. "Thinking outside of the box. You kept me from breaking the glass by breaking it yourself."

Weak from exerting herself, lightheaded from the headache, breathing heavily through her mouth, Max forced herself to lift her chin and look up at Dr. Jefferson. The thick, clogged feeling in her nose bridge and the wetness on her upper lip told her she was having a nosebleed again.

Dr. Jefferson swam in and out of focus as he drew closer to her. "It's concerning though, that you're able to use your abilities even with the activated cuffs. But it seems you're only capable of that if you're winding back from a moment where the blockers have been deactivated."

"Why are you doing this?" Max tried to put a demand into her question but with how drained and breathless she was, her voice came out barely more than a whimper. "What are these tests supposed to accomplish?"

"Is a thirst for knowledge not enough of an answer for you?" Dr. Jefferson once again pressed his palms against the table and leaned over it, pressing his face uncomfortably close to hers. "You can  _manipulate time_  and in effect _change reality_."

The words hit Max more harshly than she would have liked to admit. There were so many realities she changed, lives she affected, loved ones she killed. All stemming from the use and overuse of her powers.

"If that isn't a concerning enough reason to keep you detained and find the most effective ways to control your abilities then I don't know what is."

A cold, hateful voice in her head told her this reality was as good a penance as any for all the chaos she'd caused. If Chloe was here… if Chloe was alive and well, then maybe that was enough. She didn't need Max anymore.

And Max wished she didn't have to use her powers anymore either.

"Chin up, 219." Dr. Jefferson patted her cheek and she couldn't help but cringe. "Each test brings us to a closer understanding of the scope of your abilities. And we improve our technology with every newly gained understanding."

And yet, Jefferson was still alive and well in this reality, too. In power, even. Not just the photography teacher Mr. Jefferson but  _Dr_. Jefferson, the head scientist of this facility, well-versed in handling psychics and supernaturals.

"Fuck you!" With a burst of energy driven by anger, Max drove herself forward, slamming her forehead straight into his face. She felt the crunch of his glasses breaking between them and the hard collision of his nose against her skull.

Gasping, Dr. Jefferson backed away, throwing his glasses to the floor and putting a hand over his nose. He was red in the face and fuming. "You little-"

Pain shot through Max, catching her by surprise as electricity jolted through her body, burning just under her skin, agonizingly tingling up and down her limbs, making them contract and jerk against the biting straps.

She screamed and gasped, throwing her head back and thrashing as much as the restraints would allow.

It seemed like an eternity of hellish pain before the guard finally moved the electric prod away from her.

Max leaned her head against the back of the chair and struggled to breathe. She couldn't expand her chest as much as she needed to, the straps biting into her skin, constricting against her shoulders. Forced to settle for rapid, shallow breaths through her mouth, Max felt herself getting increasingly light-headed with each gasp.

"My, my. You're unusually feisty today." The condescending tone was back in Dr. Jefferson's voice now that he'd regained his composure. He sounded nasally now, but still cool and calm. "Where is this coming from?"

"How bout…" Max's own voice was also nasal and wheezy. She coughed as leaning her head back sent blood from her nose back up where it wasn't supposed to be. Spluttering and spitting blood, she straightened her head up. "How 'bout finally being sick and tired of being your little lab rat?"

Dr. Jefferson took a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his bloody nose. "No, I'm pretty sure there's more to this. You've been compliant in recent years, so something may have changed. And I'm going to figure out what did."

He walked past her and towards the door. "But for now, perhaps you need a little break before we continue with more tests."

* * *

On one hand, the hard shit like whiskey and vodka had the highest percentage and would hit her fastest, but they were expensive as hell. On the other hand, the beers were cheap, but she would get full before she even got tipsy. Even if Chloe decided to drink on an empty stomach.

Well she  _did_ have a job now. And she wouldn't feel bad about buying the expensive stuff because she wasn't going to be depending on Mom's money anymore. That and the hard stuff might actually last a few days since she doubted she could down a whole bottle of vodka on her own in one sitting.

That settled it.

Chloe took the vodka bottle out of the chiller and approached the cashier. The girl behind the counter had a raised eyebrow as she scanned the bottle.

"Fuck you, I work the night shift." Chloe snapped, "This is like prime drinking time as far as my body clock is concerned, bitch." A trickle of guilt filtered through Chloe as the cashier flinched and finished up accepting payment before bagging the purchase.

This was just the pent up energy and turmoil she still felt after seeing the Max-looking subject at the facility. Chloe was agitated and needed an outlet and unfortunately this cashier was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned to find someone inches away from her face.

"Chloe Price?"

"Fuck!" Chloe stumbled backwards but thankfully didn't drop her newly purchased booze. "What do you want?" It took a moment for her to recognize a fellow former student of Blackwell. Although this girl was probably an actual  _graduate_  and not a dropout like Chloe.

"Sorry to startle you, Chloe." The girl put a hand over her chest. "It's me, Dana Ward. Remember?"

Raising an eyebrow, Chloe kept her tone uninterested. "Vaguely." Blackwell was a whole lifetime ago. The last she walked those walls was five years ago.

"So you work for PRIPS now?"

"The what now?"

Rolling her eyes and smiling at Chloe like she was dense, Dana said, "Prescott Research Institute for Psychics and Supernaturals?"

"Ah." Chloe hugged her paper bag closer and inched her way around Dana. If memory served right, she was one of those social media junkies and somehow managed to make a career out of it. "And you know I work there, how? Is this part of your stalky blogger gigs now?"

"Your ID is still clipped to your pants."

Chloe looked down. " _Fuck_."

After she had diligently shed the bulky button-down shirt and all its gear, she had been sure that the only remnants of her uniform were her pants and boots. The stupid hat was in her locker, thank god. But her ID card, the damn thing was required for going in and out of the building, so naturally Chloe didn't leave  _that_ in the locker room.

But she was enough of a genius to forget to unclip it from her pants.

"Now," Dana moved in front of Chloe. "Would you be interested in an interview, perhaps?"

" _Seriously_?" Chloe felt herself getting riled up, her voice giving away her irritation. "Do you want to get me fired?" There were so many rules and so much paperwork that involved shutting up about the facility and what happened inside. As much as working for it sucked, Chloe knew she needed this job and would rather not have to deal with finding another. Not a lot of places were interested in someone with her history.

Talking to some blogger would be a one-way ticket out of employment. Maybe even a ticket into _jail time_  if they were going to get legal as fuck with the contract breach.

And knowing who the Prescotts were, there was definitely a big chance of getting into a mess of legalities.

"We could do it off the record."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "And then you'll still tell the world whatever I tell you, and I still get fired for breaching the NDA thing."

"So you  _do_ have non-disclosure agreements as part of your contracts." Dana's smile was practically ear to ear.

"FUCK!" Chloe wasn't sure if confirming the existence of the contracts was against the rules or not, but she was sure that if she kept talking to Dana, another,  _worse_ slip up was going to happen. "Just get out of my face, Ward."

She shouldered past Dana and was about to open the door but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Chloe." Dana positioned herself between Chloe and the door. "You can't possibly believe that the psychics and supernaturals in there deserve to be treated so inhumanely, do you?"

A flash of the Max-like subject went through Chloe's mind. The sunken eyes, the bloody nose, the emaciated body. The worst part was seeing the pain in the subject's eyes when Chloe grew cold and exerted her authority.

"Something about it bothers you, doesn't it?" Dana prompted.

The irritation with Dana was enough to cut through Chloe's guilt. "Oh yeah? How do you know they're being treated inhumanely?"

For the first time, Dana faltered. It was visible for just a moment, in the fall of her smile and the widening of her eyes. That was enough to give Chloe a sense of triumph and satisfaction.

"I just.." Dana's smile didn't return, but it was replaced by a hardened look of determination. "I have reason to believe that some subjects are being abused."

Again, the starved look to the subject came back to the forefront of Chloe's mind.

Dana squeezed Chloe's shoulder. "You think so too, don't you?"

Flustered and frustrated, Chloe shrugged off Dana's hand and walked around her towards the door. "Just leave me alone, Dana. I just want my booze and my sleep. I'm done here."

As Chloe headed for her truck, Dana's voice followed.

"Google Baelfire Research Center!" Dana didn't go after Chloe, but still shouted after her. "If that doesn't convert you into siding with the supernaturals then I don't know what will."

Just before entering her truck, Chloe turned back to see Dana still standing outside the convenience store.

"Email me, Chloe!"

The appropriate response for this was a middle finger. Then Chloe got into her truck and drove home. Drinking time just couldn't come sooner. Although getting home  _did_ bring with it a reminder of how strained Mom was.

Shaking off the worries, Chloe focused on driving and occupied herself with thoughts of the bottle in the passenger's seat.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have plans for quite a few of the cast and what roles they'll take on in this world, but I'm curious about who you're most excited to see as this story unfolds. Victoria perhaps? Kate? Let me know!
> 
> Also, the Baelfire thing is from my other story, [Subject 204](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10653057/chapters/23573199), but it's not necessary to read that. Chloe will eventually google it and it'll be revealed later on, and how it affects the Prescott facility


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep your comments coming, friends. I love hearing your thoughts and it keeps me pumped to keep writing. I almost didn't update this week but then I figured, I might as well push myself a bit and try. Next week might be busy for me, but I'll still try to update.

Bottle under her arm, Chloe kicked the front door closed behind her and made her way up the stairs. Thoughts of Dana and Max-clone still swirled through Chloe's mind, filling her with conflicted feelings and jarring thoughts. Was Dana's crusade against facilities like the one Chloe worked for really going to work? Was she right? Did the subjects deserve to be treated better? And that Max-clone. How on earth could that possibly be Max?

Chloe was close to chugging straight out of the bottle right this moment, if only to chase away the nagging thoughts and plunge herself into the oblivion of a drunk stupor.

"Chloe? Is that you?"

And  _that_  right there was a reason  _not_  to start chugging in the hallway.

"Yeah, hang on. I'll be there in a sec." Chloe opened her bedroom door and left the bottle on the dresser before turning and going across the hall to Mom's room.

She was in the middle of standing up from bed, hand over her chest, a strained look on her pale face as she leaned against the bedside table.

"Mom, are you-"

" _I'm fine!_ " The force in her mother's voice stopped Chloe in her tracks, but she kept her hands outstretched and her legs tensed, ready to spring into action if Mom's strength failed her. "I can handle myself."

Straightening up, Mom looked unsteady for a moment, but she recovered and leaned against the bedside table. "I'm fine." Her voice was softer now, almost as if she was trying to convince herself as much as her daughter.

"Are… are you sure?" Chloe let her hands hang down at her sides and straightened up herself. Still, she felt tense as she took in her mother's labored breathing and the way one of her hands was still over her chest. "If you're having your chest pains, I-"

" _No_." Mom interrupted with a shake of her head. "Tell me about your evening. David said you'd be working the night shift for your first week."

And that was still a source of resentment. Chloe bit back a retort and just nodded, stuffing her hands into her pockets. The action reminded her of the ID still clipped to her pants.

"How was it?"

"It was okay." Chloe considered telling her mother about the Max-looking subject but decided against it. There still remained the undeniable fact that Max was  _dead_  and had no way of surviving the accident. Chloe would also rather not sound like she was going crazy. On top of everything on her plate, she would rather not add hallucinations and delusions. Another trip to the psych ward was less than desirable.

Plus there really was no need to get Mom all riled up when she was still recovering.

"I patrolled both the upper and lower floors and I think that kinda impressed step-douche a little bit." Chloe added to her answer when she realized that Mom was hoping for more substance. "I also spent some time looking through the manuals again. Step-dick said he'll give me more notes to study on my next shift."

Chloe half-heartedly pumped a fist into the air and raised an eyebrow at her mother. " _Yay_ , I guess?"

"That does sound like a ' _yay_ '." Mom nodded, mirroring the action. An awkward, halfhearted laugh worked its way out of her. Chloe responded with an uncomfortable laugh of her own.

Then they let silence settle between them.

Itching for the drink waiting in her room but unwilling to leave Mom so abruptly, Chloe shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked down on the floor.

"I'm proud of you, Chloe."

The ground seemed to tilt as Chloe felt her jaw drop. Blinking in surprise, she looked up and stared at her mother. "What?"

A more genuine laugh came out of Mom as she gestured for Chloe to come closer. "You heard me. Are you really fishing for me to say it again?"

Drawing closer to Mom, Chloe allowed herself to be pulled into an embrace, burying her face into her mother's shoulder. The warmth and contact felt like a comfort against the deeply buried sorrow, a source of strength amidst the turmoil.

Again, Chloe felt the urge to talk about the subject that looked like (or might even be) Max.

But still, she held her tongue and looked at her mother.

"I would appreciate you holding back on the disrespectful nicknames for David." Mom said, " But I do appreciate how you're making the effort to get on your feet."

Ignoring the former, Chloe instead smiled and responded to the latter. "Yeah. I mean it's still a shitty job, but it's better than nothing. At least I'm actually going to be earning soon." That was her consolation. At least for now.

Although at the back of her mind, she did feel guilty about the bottle of booze just in the next room. Mom would probably not be proud of that.

"Yeah. And I will be, too." Mom said, eyeing the papers on the dresser. Bills, most likely. A  _lot_  of them.

"Just focus on resting up and getting better?" Chloe squeezed her mother's shoulders. "Please?"

Rolling her eyes, Mom shooed Chloe away. "Honestly, you're worse than David. Go ahead on to your room and sleep or troll facebook or whatever it is you do. I'll be okay."

"Yes, but  _you_  rest and take it easy. Be good." Chloe used her best impression of a mom voice, earning a laugh and another shooing motion. With a wink, Chloe left her mother's room and headed into her own room, where the bottle was patiently waiting.

Closing and locking the door behind her, Chloe picked up her booze and moved to settle at her desk. There was already a glass there. It crossed Chloe's mind to wash it, but that just meant getting up and going to the bathroom and coming back into the room. A lot of effort she wasn't willing to go through when she was drained from the night shift.

Already, Max-clone's face and Dana's voice were swirling through Chloe's mind and fighting for attention.

Not to mention the fact that the Max-clone was making it  _overwhelmingly_  difficult to avoid thinking about the  _accident_.

Chloe opened the bottle and poured some vodka into her glass. It was definitely more than just a shot, but fuck it. Sipping vodka from a glass didn't have to be blasphemy. And she was doing this alone so there was nobody to judge her but herself.

"Cheers." Chloe raised her glass to the two pictures she kept on her desk. The one Dad took of Chloe and Max in their pirate gear was getting dusty and would need some wiping one of these days. Next to it, the picture frame holding a shot of Rachel was probably still sticky from when Chloe spilled beer on it a few days ago. That could use some cleaning, too.

Sighing to herself, Chloe moved her gaze from the pictures to the glass. She tilted her head back and took a long sip that burned through her throat and made her cough. It was an uncomfortable tightness that went all the way down to her chest, making Chloe consider going to the kitchen to find some soda to mix with this shit.

But again, that took effort and Chloe wanted to be economical.

More prepared this time and telling herself to take smaller sips, Chloe tried again.

It still burned and it still made her throat constrict into itself, but it wasn't so bad this time.

With her third sip, Chloe considered googling Baelfire like Dana suggested. That was the facility with the massive breakout of its subjects. Other than that, Chloe couldn't recall much else about it other than the fact that it was a hot topic and it meant that the Prescotts were going to be very strict about the protocols in their own facility.

A fourth sip emptied the glass and Chloe poured herself another, this time going for a full glass instead of a half-assed attempt at pouring an estimated shot.

It crossed her mind that she hadn't eaten yet and her stomach was going to be holding little more than alcohol. The hangover tomorrow would be excruciating if she didn't eat or at least get some water.

Mulling over the pros and cons of heading down to the kitchen accompanied her fifth sip.

She still didn't want to bother with putting in more effort than necessary.

Chloe took several more sips as guilt started climbing its way to the surface. A hangover would make her very ineffective at her job. That would be a shame considering Mom just said she was  _proud_  of her daughter.

Groaning to herself, Chloe emptied her second glass and made her way to the door. It surprised her how unsteady she'd gotten from just two glasses.

She had to remind herself that the shit she was drinking was a good 40%, with no chaser or food whatsoever and she should probably stop after one more glass. Wobbling her way down the stairs, Chloe went for the cupboard and grabbed a box of cereal before taking a bowl and milk.

It was a meal that needed the least amount of effort and Chloe was all about economy of effort tonight.

Or… this  _morning_ , rather.

She sloppily poured the milk and cereal into the bowl before wiping spilled milk and eating spilled cereal. With her breakfast ready and the kitchen more or less cleaned of its mess, Chloe worked her way back up the stairs, going as slowly as possible to avoid spilling her breakfast. Or was it  _dinner_  since her body was going to sleep soon after being up all night?

Fucking night shift bodyclock was confusing as shit.

Chloe put her cereal down and locked her bedroom door once more. As she dug in to her food, she had to resist the urge to find out what it would be like if she poured some of the vodka into the bowl.

Still, she made sure to take sips of her third glass in between spoonsful of cereal. By the time both were emptied out, Chloe felt bloated and dizzy.

Clutching at her head, she forced herself off her chair. She pulled off the undershirt she wore beneath the uniform and pulled off the pants. Fuck sleepwear. Chloe was drunk and couldn't be bothered to figure out putting herself into a change of clothes.

She was about to throw herself into bed when her reflection caught her eye. Several strips of white colored her skin, reminders of the stitches and injuries she sustained from the accident. The worst of them had been all along her arm. Getting a full sleeve tattoo helped cover most of that up, but sometimes she found herself stopping and thinking about how the shards and debris flew by and how the asphalt skinned her.

_Fuck this._

Chloe tossed her shirt at the mirror before crawling into bed.

* * *

Heart pounding rapidly against her chest, Chloe had one hand gripping the back of her father's car seat while her other arm was wrapped around Max's bleeding form. It happened so suddenly, the blood just started flowing out of her. They were just standing in the hallway. The next thing Chloe knew, Dad was rushing Max into the car and driving to the nearest hospital.

Panic was rushing through Chloe as she struggled to breathe and at this point she wasn't sure if her face was damp from tears or sweat or even Max's blood.

"Chloe…" Max's voice was strained and soft. Her face was pale as she turned to look at Chloe and leaned into her. "I'm sorry."

"What d-" Chloe felt the car door open behind her and before she could regain her balance, Max's kick to the stomach sent Chloe tumbling out of the car. Rolling in the asphalt tore her skin open and she felt pain shoot up her wrist and her ribs.

Winded by the time she stopped rolling, Chloe found herself lying on her side, pain starting to settle over her body, the worst of it centered around her ribs, her wrist and the spots of skin torn up by the road.

Chloe's blood ran cold when she saw the tanker truck collide with Dad's car. An explosion sent shards, debris and sparks flying her way and all she could do was shield her face with her arm.

* * *

Wind whipped at her face and rain stung her eyes. Her jacket was drenched and clung to her skin, but not the weather, not the storm, not the rain or wind could make her feel more frozen in place than the words coming out in Chloe's braking voice.

"Wherever I end up after this, in whatever reality," Tears and rain coated Chloe's face in equal measure as she gripped Max by the shoulders. "All those moments between us were  _real_ , and they'll always be  _ours_."

Pulling back, heart breaking, Max shook her head. All the things they went through came flashing through her mind, from the breakfast at the diner to the games in the junkyard and the walk on the train tracks to solving the mystery together to dealing with Frank together, to unfolding Jefferson's crimes together…

How could those just be erased from reality? Chloe felt love and friendship and laughter like she hadn't in years and Max couldn't bear to take that away from her all over again.

"No matter what you choose," Chloe continued, "I know you'll make the right decision."

"Chloe," Max heard the plea and the break in her own voice as her eyes stung more from tears than the elements. "I can't make this choice."

"No, Max." Chloe's had steadied herself now, her tone eerily calm. "You're the only one who can."

That butterfly. That fucking butterfly picture where this all started.

If Max went back now and decided to do nothing as Nathan threatened and ultimately shot Chloe, then what would that do to all these memories? What would that do to this  _love and friendship_?

Chloe would die in a fucking bathroom floor. Alone. Angry. Unloved. Pained.

None of Max's memories would get to be Chloe's reality.

That hurt more than anything else. It tore at Max's chest and her heart felt tight and it was just pure agony to see Chloe there now, standing tall. She was willing to sacrifice herself to save a town who wrote her off as worthless and aimless. How could Max just let Chloe die without ever feeling the love and joy of the past few days?

But how could Max sacrifice the entirety of Arcadia Bay for one girl?

"No." Max grit her teeth. "There has to be another way."

Her whole life was full of different choices that led down different paths. There had to be a path where things would happen differently. There  _had_ to be a path where nobody had to die like this.  _There had to be another way._

"Max…" What calm had been in Chloe's voice was gone now as she drew closer. "I'm not worth this."

"There has to be another way." Max repeated, heart pounding heavily in her chest. She pulled out her phone. The screen was cracked but it still worked. If she could travel through polaroid snapshots, maybe she could do the same with  _a picture of a picture_  on her phone.

"What are you doing?" Chloe's eyes darted from the tornado, to Max and back.

"There has to be another choice, another path, another change I can make." Max opened the family picture they'd taken before leaving Arcadia Bay all those years ago. "I'm going to find it."

She focused into the picture, feeling the pounding in her head build up as she kept her eyes on the cracked screen, on the blurred and pixelated moment until she opened her eyes to find herself between her parents.

"Dad," The moment was hazy and Max could feel the storm pulling her back to her timeline, but she clung to her father's hand. "Please. Can't we stay?"

"Max, we've been through this." He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were excited to meet new friends. Are you alright?"

"We have to stay!" Max felt all sense of composure crumble as she grasped her father's arms. "Please, Dad. We have to! I  _need_  us to."

Frowning, Dad shook his head. "Max, that's enough. We have to get going. Go and say goodbye to Chloe."

"I  _can't_." Pain coursed through Max's head as the storm pulled her back and she found herself on her knees by the cliff side, in Chloe's arms.

"Max, we're running out of time." Chloe said. "You have to let it happen." She pressed the picture into Max's hands.

Shaking her head, Max returned her attention to her phone. "I need to try again.  _Nobody_  is going to die."

* * *

Nightmares were never fun.

They forced her to relive her worst memories and reminded her that no matter what she did or tried to do differently, it wasn't going to change reality. She was always going to wake up to this life and she was stuck trying to make it work somehow.

That and it sucked that having nightmares left Chloe in a reflective mood, thinking about her place (or lack thereof) in this world.

On some bad days she could almost wish that they found her too late. Then maybe she would finally be with Dad.

Dad and Max and Rachel.

But that of course meant leaving Mom behind with nothing but graves and painful memories. And Chloe knew she couldn't do that to her mother. Not when she tried so hard and worked so hard and now her body was paying the price for it.

With a sigh, Chloe pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. Vibration in her pocket called her attention. She checked her phone to see a message from Dana.

* * *

_"Have you googled Baelfire yet? Or even looked into articles about the fight for rights for the paranormals?"_

* * *

Scoffing, Chloe closed the message, deciding that a seenzone was better than a cranky reply.

She had too many things on her mind to deal with anyway. There was no time to fret over another facility. Especially not one that royally fucked up with escaped subjects and an eventual shutdown. Chloe had a job to do and she was better off focusing her mind and energy on just getting this job done. No distractions or exceptions.

Another buzz from her phone showed a text from David.

* * *

_"Still talking to the boss. Will talk to you after. Meet at lobby."_

* * *

Reminding herself to be civil, she replied with a neutral "okay". Before finishing up changing into her uniform and proceeding to the lobby.

Of course, the universe refused to make things easy and painless for Chloe.

" _Chloe Price_." The drawling voice could only belong to one Victoria Chase, in the standard-issue intern coat worn over her fashionable blouse and skirt, strutting her way over. " _Interesting_  to see you here."

"Do you still need help with your homework?" Chloe couldn't resist jabbing preemptively. "I could probably take a look at your notes for you. They might be too  _complicated_  for you."

Not one to be outdone, Victoria didn't hold back with her retaliation. "What about you, though? Your job description includes keeping us safe, right? Keeping us  _alive_? How will that work when you can't even do that for yourself?"

Pain and a flash of memories rushed through Chloe. The pills. The drugs. The hospital. The questions. All the questions and all the tears.

It took all of Chloe's inner strength to resist throat punching the woman in front of her. That would be a one-way ticket to getting fired and probably blacklisted, too. They were pulling more than enough strings handing out this job when Chloe didn't have any credentials. Getting into a fight with an intern would ruin everything and David would have  _no_  way of saving Chloe's ass.

Not to mention the fact that Victoria would  _definitely_  press charges if Chloe got physical.

Clenching her jaw and lifting her head, Chloe forced herself to stand at attention and keep her eyes straight ahead.

"What's the matter, Price?" Victoria asked. "Not going to say anything witty?"

" _Chloe_!" David's booming voice echoed through the lobby. The several people also getting ready to leave or waiting for their ride home turned their heads to look at the source of the commotion. Chloe wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor at this point. "Stop harassing the intern and get over here."

"Yes, sir douche." Chloe grumbled to herself and stepped around Victoria, avoiding eye contact with her.

"What was that?" David barked.

Speaking through gritted teeth, Chloe stopped in front of her stepfather and looked up at him. "I said  _yes, sir."_

This was looking like it would be another very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, y'all leaving comments and reviews give me life. And you can also always hit me up on tumblr (stefi-delly or wolfdogonthemoon) to bug me for updates and feels and I might give you excerpts or previews.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been way way waaay too long since the last update. I apologize for that. I'm not super sure if I can maintain an update schedule considering I'm juggling another project plus the main fic that this spins off from is still not yet done and lol I feel bad about that but am having trouble getting myself to get on it.
> 
> Also, I understand that given the heavy content of this story and how intense it has the potential to be, I totally understand if you need to step out and don't think you can stomach continuing to read. That's okay and that's fine. It's better to be safe and avoid your triggers than let me screw things up for you.
> 
> I really just want to explore some heavy themes and challenge the characters to find that strength and that center to keep going despite having all the odds stacked against them, plagued by inner and outer demons. I guess it helps me cope and keep going as well, and I figure it helps other people maybe?
> 
> Anyway.. yeah. I've rambled enough. Without further chatter from me, here's chapter five at last.

"So you've been performing well so far." David said, his hands stiff at his sides. "I'll give you another two or three weeks of night shift before moving you to the day to guard the interns when they interact with some of the subjects."

Chloe looked up at that, a burst of excitement coursing through her at the thought of actually being part of the facility activities during the day.

Of course David could read the excitement on Chloe's face and  _of course_  had to squash it. "You won't be allowed to handle the subjects yet. And you are  _not_  to speak to the interns or the scientists unless spoken to. You'll just be in the room with them during some of their tests."

"Wait, if I can't touch the subject but I'm supposed to guard the interns in the room with them," Chloe's brow furrowed as she looked up at her stepfather. "How am I supposed to react if one of the subjects goes berserk?"

"We'll be training you for that. For now your job is mostly to observe." David said, "But prepare for more intensive training next week. And also try to hit the gym this weekend. You're required to be in peak physical condition."

"Buff up this weekend. Got it." Chloe rolled her eyes, not willing to waste her weekend in a gym but also not willing to lose this job just because she didn't fit their requirements. "Anything else?"

David's drill sergeant stance faltered for a moment and he spoke in a softer voice. " _Please_  do something about your hair. It's against regulations and I won't be able to cover for you when more people see you as you move to the day shift."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Chloe looked away from David.

The blue hair was her  _thing_. It started with punk teenage rebellion and just grew into her  _look_. Then there were those two or so years when she wasn't allowed to dye her hair. Now, it was about autonomy. She had her body and her freedom again and she expressed that with her hair.

Dyeing her hair helped her feel like she had control of herself. Like she had something in her life that she could take charge of and manipulate without any real damage to anyone. She could ground herself by finding solace in this  _one thing._  Especially when more of then than not, she felt like the universe was out to get her.

It was hard to verbalize her thoughts and step douche just wouldn't understand.

"Chloe?" David prompted, voice strained.

"Fine." Chloe grumbled. "I'll dye it back to blond this weekend."

"Good." After a pause, he added, "Thanks."

She didn't look at him. None of this was for  _him_  anyway.

The tension wasn't invisible to David and Chloe took some pleasure in the way he squirmed uncomfortably before eventually dismissing her. "You can start on your patrol rounds now. There's a folder in the guard's station. I printed out some files for you to study. About the company and some more policies when interacting with subjects. Study that. I'll drill you on it next week, when we focus on more of your training."

Chloe nodded to show she heard him. He was about to turn and leave but stopped and seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"Chloe?" His voice was uncharacteristically soft again and it unnerved Chloe. "One more thing." When he made eye contact with her, there was a seriousness to them that scared her.

Relying on her defense mechanism, Chloe used her most impatient tone and even threw in an eye roll. "What?"

David's jaw tensed and relaxed a few times almost like he was chewing on whatever he was going to say. Chloe stopped herself from telling him to spit it out.

Finally, he said, "Let's put aside time to go through the subjects together. There's… there's one that concerns me and we may have to… discuss her case."

Taken aback, Chloe's eyes widened and she felt her hands drop to her sides. "Wh… what?"

"Well... maybe two subjects, actually." David shook his head. "Let's talk about it on Monday." He made an awkward nod to signal the end of the conversation, then walked away.

" _What_?" Chloe whispered to herself.

Did David know something about the Max-looking subject? Did he and his creepy tendency to play detective mean he dug something up about her? Dug something up about this place? Dana would want to know if there was some big conspiracy David managed to uncover and-

Shaking her head, Chloe snapped herself out of it. She was going down the conspiracy theory train and sounding way too much like her dear old stepdad. Chloe cringed at the very idea.

She had work to do. She had to concentrate. Chloe took in a deep breath and got herself ready for her rounds.

Even if the Max-looking subject nagged at Chloe's mind, she resisted the urge to go there right away. It was a bad idea, especially considering the turmoil still churning through Chloe at the very thought of that subject. And David's ominous words weren't helping either.

Instead, Chloe focused on thoroughly making her rounds as majority of the scientists and interns packed up and went home. For every empty office, lab, research room or conference room, Chloe made sure to follow the protocols for turning off electronics that were supposed to be turned off, locking up doors that were supposed to be locked up.

There were a few assistants and interns she came across. They paid her no mind as she passed by. One asked her not to close up the lab he was working on just yet, since he was just going to grab a snack.

A couple of hours had passed and Chloe's legs were sore from walking. But she was running out of reasons to stop herself from going down to check on Max-looking Subject again.

Chronikinetic. Time manipulation.

That's what her file said. And it warned about being very careful when dealing with her. Experiencing déjà vu was a sign that the subject was using her powers and posing a threat.

The problem wasn't that Chloe felt like she was experiencing déjà vu. She felt like she was experiencing  _hallucinations_. Or delusions. Or just seriously questioning reality.

Did that count? Was it worth mentioning to David or to one of the scientists?

"That fucking subject has really gotten into your head, Price." Chloe muttered to herself as the elevator doors opened to the floor that looked more like it held prison cells than anything else. She walked along the doors on the left side, looking at the labels until she came across the one that read  _Subject 219_.

Chloe hesitated at the door, fidgeted with her flashlight.

"What am I doing?" She asked herself. She was obsessing over a subject in a facility that studied and experimented on  _weird stuff_. Of course this subject was  _weird_  and could do something as weird as look almost exactly like Max. There was no need to get so worked up about it.

But Chloe couldn't help it.

She approached the door and pointed her flashlight in through the small window.

The subject was lying on her bed but once the flash light was pointed at her, she scrambled onto her feet and put her hands behind her head.

And Chloe could see fresh bruises on her arms and face, even a cut on her lip.

Realizing she was blinding the subject again, Chloe angled the flashlight downwards.

The subject maintained the position at first, squinting and blinking as her eyes adjusted. Then she brought her arms down when recognition dawned on her. "Chloe?"

"How do you know my name?" Chloe asked. The only name on her uniform was PRICE. Unless the subject was a mindreader or somehow using her powers to get information out of Chloe, how was it possible? The subject shouldn't even be able to  _use_  her powers. The blocker cuffs were activated.

None of this was making any sense.

"It's me… It's Max." The subject moved with a limp and a weary hunch to her shoulders, leaning against the wall as she made her way to the door. "I don't… I don't know how to convince you to believe me."

"Damn right." Chloe was surprised by how harsh her own words were, but she was so on the edge around this subject and her eerily familiar face that being antagonistic and snarky helped maintain distance.

That was Chloe's go-to move, after all, when she wanted to push people and emotions as far away as possible.

Because otherwise, Chloe would have to accept that this was really Max. Way too many signs were pointing to it.

But that was still something Chloe would rather not accept.

"I just…" The subject sighed, "I just want to say that  _I'm sorry_. I'm sorry I messed up so much. I tried so hard to save everyone but I…" She shook her head and pressed her forehead against the glass. Her voice was soft and Chloe had to strain to hear it. "…I  _couldn't_  save everyone. I'm sorry I couldn't save your father."

Memories of the crash came barrellng through Chloe once more. She shook her head to block them out, but they came back so vividly, she had to lean against the door and press a hand against her chest, over her panicking heart.

"For what it's worth…" Max -no, not Max. The s _ubject_ \- continued to speak. "…it's good to see you alive. It's… it's good to see you at all."

"What are you doing to me?" Chloe gasped, struggling to get enough air into her lungs as the memories threatened to drown her. It felt like water in her throat, in her chest, choking her as she felt the kick to the stomach, the impact on the unforgiving road, the explosion, the funerals.

Chloe slammed a palm against the glass, causing the subject to flinch backwards. "And what the fuck are you talking about? Me being alive? How do you know about that? You can't know about that!"

The subject's furrowed brow was thrown into deep shadows in the light of the flashlight. It made her bruises stand out and filled Chloe with guilt at the way she was treating this girl.

"Chloe… what do you mean?" The subject said, "I… I moved through every timeline to find a way to keep you alive. Find a different path that wouldn't lead to… to you  _dying_."

Slamming her palm against the glass once more, Chloe glared at the subject. "What, so it was  _your_  fault, then?  _You're_  the reason why I didn't succeed?"

"Chloe…" The subject's piercing eyes showed confusion and concern now. She hugged herself, rubbing her thumbs over her arms. "I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about."

" _Don't you_?" Chloe was about to hit the glass again but managed to stop herself. She stepped away from the door, tried to focus on her breathing, tried not to think about anything but the flashlight in her hand. She held it tightly, focused on how it felt against her palm and fingers, the slight weight of it pulling at her arm.

"Please, Chloe…" The subject was pressing her hands against the glass once more, her eyes pained, as if she wanted to reach out and offer a comforting hand. "I'm sorry…Whatever I did, whatever changes I made to your life, whoever I became in your memories…  _I'm sorry_."

Focusing on breathing in and out, Chloe managed to keep her gaze on the subject, focusing on those eyes. They were tearing up again.

The subject's voice broke, growing unsteady and breathy as she continued, "Most of all, I'm sorry for leaving your life when you needed me the most. Again and again and  _again_. I'm  _so_ , so sorry."

"I just…" Chloe sore jaw told her she was gritting her teeth again. Forcing it to relax, she said, "I just can't believe you could really be Max when I know that nobody survived that accident but me. And I only survived because…"

She rubbed at the back of her neck and looked away. The memories threatened to come flooding back, but she managed to keep them from drowning her. "I only survived because you pushed me out of the car. Right before… right before it happened."

Chloe was in too deep now, legit saying  _you_  instead of  _she_  when referring to Max.

"I couldn't let you die…" The subject said. "I really don't know how I can convince you that it's me… but it  _is_  me."

"What do you want from me?"

A sad, bittersweet smile didn't reach the subject's eyes. "Knowing that you're alive and well is enough for me."

"Well… I'm barely either of those." Chloe scuffed the floor with her boot. "I almost  _wasn't_  either of those."

"Chloe, did you-"

"New kid! Hey!" An echoing male voice preceded a whistle that made Chloe wince. "Price! Step away from there!"

A tall, heavily built guard came stomping over. He practically shoved Chloe away from the door before inspecting it. Once he was satisfied that everything was in order, he turned to Chloe. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Nothing." Chloe grit her teeth to keep herself from snarking back when she wanted nothing more than to rip into him. She needed this job and lashing out at coworkers would only threaten her position.

"Be careful with this one, Price. She's crafty as fuck." He turned back towards the door, banging a large fist against it. "Back to bed, 219!"

It looked like the subject didn't follow orders immediately, because the guard got riled up in an instant.

"Hey! If you're not in your bed in two seconds, I'm going in there to cuff you to it myself!" When he started to raise his voice, Chloe realized she recognized the asshole from when he used to talk to other kids in pretty much the same way. It was Zachary Riggins. " _One_!"

Everything about this felt wrong. " _TWO_!"

Chloe thought she heard the creak of the bed.

 _"_ Good _._ " Riggins seemed satisfied then, nodding at the window before returning his attention to Chloe.

"You don't have to be so damn forceful with them." Chloe couldn't resist calling him out now.

Rolling his eyes, Riggins gave Chloe a dismissive wave. "Just get your ass moving along or I'll tell your stepdad about how you broke regulations."

Fuming, it took every ounce of willpower to calmly turn around and walk away.

Chloe couldn't, however, resist raising a middle finger before she rounded the corner.

* * *

"We're running out of time!" Chloe's had to scream over the building wind and rain. "You have to go back and let it happen. I'm not worth this! My mom deserves better than to die in that fucking diner, Max,  _please_!"

" _Nobody_  is going to die!" Max insisted, trying to put conviction in her voice but it was weak and soft, her head pounding. She was still reeling from travelling through the picture, but she had to try again. There had to be another way.

Ignoring Chloe's pleas, Max focused back into the picture, ignoring the sharp jabs of pain slicing through her skull as she forced herself through time and space to get back into that place, that time, that universe.

She felt the pull.

The rain eased. The sun was up. The wind was calm.

"We have to get going. Go and say goodbye to Chloe."

Max had to steady herself against Dad's car, subtly wiping her nose on her hand to check if it was bleeding. Thankfully, it wasn't.  _Yet_.

There was sadness in Chloe's eyes as she handed the camera back to Max. "I hope the picture came out okay."

"Chloe, listen." Holding the camera in one hand, Max gripped Chloe's arm with the other. "There's something very important I need to tell you."

Chloe's brow furrowed. "What is it? You're kind of creeping me out, Max."

"Listen. You and I are going to have trouble keeping in touch. That's when you're going to meet a girl. Rachel Amber." Max ignored the mixture of confusion and fear taking over Chloe's face. If there was any way to change the fate of Rachel and maybe by extension, the fate of Chloe, then  _maybe_  things would play out differently. Maybe Nathan and Jefferson wouldn't claim them as their latest targets. And Nathan wouldn't be in that bathroom to confront Chloe.

It was a lot of  _maybe's_. It was a longshot.

But it was better than nothing. Better than choosing between Chloe and Arcadia Bay.

"Take care of her. Take care of Rachel. Don't let her near the photography teacher. Mark Jefferson. He's dangerous. And be careful with Nathan Prescott."

The headache was getting worse and Max could feel the storm pulling her back.

"Be careful." Max begged, just as she felt herself starting to fade away. Before she could go completely, she pulled Chloe in for a hug. Max held her tightly, wishing the action could erase all the pain their distance was going to create.

Praying that this time, it wasn't going to end in tragedy.

* * *

After the infuriating encounter with Riggins, Chloe made herself busy with patrolling the different floors and really committing the layout to memory, making sure she knew every section as intimately as her tattoos. It helped to keep her mind busy, but by the time her shift ended, Chloe's thoughts were once again back to Max and how she was in such terrible shape.

It crossed her mind to pass by the convenience store again but Chloe recalled she still had a good half a bottle or so of hard booze in her room. That should be enough to get her through the night.

Get her through the  _day._

Day.

_Fuck the night shift._

Chloe sighed as she pulled up into the driveway of her mother's house. With any luck, Mom may still be asleep. As nice as it was to have brief moments of mother-daughter bonding, Chloe felt both too drained to engage and too pent up to avoid venting about everything that felt wrong about PRIPS.

With the truck grumbling to halt, Chloe got out and closed the door as quietly as she could.

Even if it  _probably_  wouldn't make much of a difference considering the noisy engine already announced her presence.

Mentally preparing herself, Chloe sucked in a breath and entered the house.

Main hallway deserted, no sounds from the kitchen or the living room. So far so good.

Walking lightly on her feet, Chloe made her way to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of granola bars. No movement in the bedroom, no sound of any opening doors. Still quiet. Still all clear.

"Are you really having  _that_  for breakfast?"

Chloe's heart skipped a beat as she spun around to find Mom at the kitchen doorway. She was still pale, with bags under her eyes and a hollowness to her cheeks that Chloe still couldn't get used to.

Even with the strain of her condition, Mom managed to put on a stern expression, eyebrow raised, hand on her hip. "Chloe?  _Really_?"

"Mom, it's fine. I'm not hungry." It was hard to have much of an appetite, knowing at least one subject in there was beaten and starving. "I'll just eat something bigger when I wake up."

"I could cook you something,"

"No, don't worry about it." Chloe shook her head and tried to keep her voice even. The doctors stressed the importance of taking things slow and avoiding stress and strenuous activity. Admittedly, cooking wasn't as intense as running or arguing. But Chloe didn't want to take any chances. "I'll be fine. I'm just tired and want something easy to eat."

Mom's stern expression melted into crestfallen. She swallowed and looked away. "If you say so…"

"I'm okay." Chloe lied, but already sensing that Mom knew something was wrong. " _Really_. I'm okay."

"Just… please don't forget to take care of yourself..." Mom forced a stiff smile. "Okay?"

Chloe nodded. "Got it."

Mom left the kitchen, muttering words Chloe strained to hear. And when she did, she wished she hadn't. "Because I don't know how much longer I can."

Frustration and pain burned through Chloe like fire coursing through her veins. She waited to hear Mom's door close before slamming her fists against the kitchen countertop. It was a hard enough surface, able to absorb the blows without making much noise. The only noticeable sounds that came with each blow were the rattled jars nearby.

The universe was just out to ruin everything.

As she pounded against the countertop again, ignoring the pain that throbbed through her hands, Chloe reminded herself that the universe wasn't working  _alone_  to make Mom so sick.  _Chloe_  played her part. Chloe was the one going through shit and coping badly with shit and acting like a little shit and putting Mom through shit.

It wasn't Mom's fault that her body couldn't take the stress of dealing with a daughter who just phenomenally  _sucked_  at living through life.

Releasing a shaky sigh, Chloe stepped away from the counter and let her hands hang at her sides. Her eyes were warming up, her vision was blurring, her breathing was unsteady, her heart was pounding and her hands were trembling.

She felt pent up and ready to explode.

 _Breathe_. She told herself. Just  _breathe_.

Chloe sucked in a breath, held it as long as she could, then let it out slowly. The trembling was going through her whole body now and her legs were unsteady. She took another several breaths, working her way towards having enough control over her body to get to the safety and privacy of her room.

Breathe.

In...

... out.

Still focusing on her breathing, Chloe made her way up the stairs and finally to her room. She was about to collapse onto the bed when the buzzing in her pocket caught her attention.

Fishing her phone out, Chloe saw a call from Dana.

Through bleary eyes, Chloe pressed the red blur.

"Chloe?"

" _Fuck_." Thanks, universe. It just had to make sure Chloe didn't miss this call.

"Hello to you, too." Dana said, taking the coldness in stride. "Look, I may have been a bit too forward last we saw each other, and I can understand your suspicions. I kind of just…" She paused, and Chloe held her breath, hoping Dana wasn't going to hear the uneven breathing and disgusting sniffles. "I want to clarify that I'm really not in this for the money or the fame of breaking a big story. I'm  _genuinely_  worried about the people being detained there. I mean  _you_  grew up here, you know as well as I do that the Prescotts have a little too much control over the town for it to be healthy."

Chloe swallowed and bit her lip. Why she couldn't just hang up on Dana was a mystery even to Chloe. It would be so easy to just end the call and maybe even block the number.

"Look. Something wrong is going on there. You don't think things are all that right in there, do you?"

"I'm worried about a girl there." Chloe blurted out the words before she could stop herself. From there, it all just came rushing out. "I'm scared and confused and it's fucking with my head. The girl there looks like someone I knew when I was a kid and it's fucking me up because the last time I saw her, she was bleeding to death in my dad's fucking car just before a fucking truck totaled it."

"Chloe…" For once, Dana didn't have a response at hand.

"I went to her  _funeral_ , Dana. I don't understand how she's  _alive_. And _in there_."

"Was it…" Dana started to regain her ability to speak. "Was it a closed casket funeral or… or did you ever see a body?"

"I… It…" Chloe shook her head and pressed a hand against her face. "I didn't see a body, but I  _did_  see an explosion and I'm the only one that got out of it alive because she pushed me out of the damn car right before impact."

The sight of blood pooling over Max's stomach was still burned into Chloe's mind.

"And even if the explosion didn't get her, she was already bleeding before the crash."

"Why was she bleeding?"

"We don't know why. She just  _was_. It was like a bullet wound or something." Chloe could still remember how sudden it was and how Dad acted quickly while Chloe stood frozen to the spot. "We were rushing her to the hospital when the crash happened."

"But if someone who looks like your friend is in that facility, then there's a high chance it  _is_  her." Dana said, her tone getting way too excited for Chloe's liking. "They probably covered it all up or something. If she pushed you out of the car before the crash, she must have known it was going to happen. And that's why she's in the facility now."

"Her file says she's chronokinetic and-" Chloe stopped herself.

What the fuck was she doing? She was jeopardizing her job. This job was important and keeping it meant giving Mom an easier time.

" _Fuck_." Chloe clenched her fist. "Fuck. Dana, forget we had this call. I can't risk losing this job. Get off my case."

"Is keeping a job more important than freeing someone from abuse?" Dana said the words that tore through Chloe's rationalizations. "More important than someone you care about?"

Chloe was silent.

"It's Max, isn't it?" Dana asked.

Gritting her teeth, Chloe closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. "Yeah…" Her voice was gravelly and soft. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Yeah. Max. We buried her nine years ago."

"Can we meet up?" Dana asked.

The bruises on Max were heartbreaking and it was putting Chloe's head through twists and turns to accept that the subject really was Max. But if that  _was_  Max and she was being starved and beaten and experimented on… then… then Chloe had to do something.

Max saved Chloe's life nine years ago.

Now… Chloe was going to have to do the same for her.

"Yeah." Still holding reservations but no longer able to fight the guilt and worry and turmoil, Chloe hardened her resolve. "Yeah, let's figure something out."

* * *

Arcadia Bay was… whole.

It was as if the storm had never come to pass. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the grass was green and the town just felt so…  _alive_.

Was  _Chloe_  alive?

Chest growing tight, Max looked around the lighthouse but saw no sign of her. Even the footprints and disturbed soil looked like they had only come from Max.

"Chloe?" Max called, jogging over to the bench, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, only to find none. Looking around, Max tried again, shouting louder this time. " _CHLOE_!"

When only the chirp of birds and the chatter of squirrels answered her, Max was forced to accept that Chloe wasn't here.

A blue butterfly fluttered over and landed on the bench. Its wings sparkled in the light, glinting like sapphire.

Could Chloe be in the bathroom of Blackwell?

If not, Max could check the Price household.

Resolving to find Chloe and find out what changed in this timeline, Max ran down the path, ignoring the unsteadiness of her tired legs and the heavy pull of exhaustion after what felt like an eternity of being awake and under stress.

The run was bringing the headache back and Max knew there was no way she was going to  _run_  all the way to Blackwell Academy from here.

But she had to get to Blackwell  _somehow_.

She had to find out what happened to Chloe.

As she neared the main road, a newspaper caught Max's eye. She came to a clumsy stop, stumbling over and pressing her palms against her knees so she could hang her head and catch her breath.

The headache was getting worse. She felt like the world around her was spinning.

She  _really_  needed to rest.

Rubbing her palms over her sweaty face, Max flopped down to sit on the grass and pick up the discarded newspaper.

The headline read: _BLACKWELL PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHER ARRESTED_

It was under a picture of Jefferson being arrested and marched out of Blackwell's main hall.

Max's blood ran cold when she saw the subheading.

_TWO STUDENTS SHOT DEAD_

"No." Max shook her head as her throat started to close up. "No, no, no."

With trembling hands, Max brought the discarded newspaper closer. It named the two students as Rachel Amber and… and Chloe Price.

_The story of Chloe Price and Rachel Amber is a tragic one. They were found in a bunker with bullets between their eyes. Police were directed to the bunker as a result of Nathan Prescott's confession. He has not been available for comment, but limited information provided by police say that he was confronted by Ms. Price moments before she entered the bunker, allegedly to save her friend Rachel Amber. A phone call took place between Price and Prescott, however the full scope of said call has yet to be released._

_In the bunker, which has been revealed to be owned by the Prescott family, Mark Jefferson, photography teacher at Blackwell Academy, would drug young women for the purpose of taking dark and disturbing photographs. Some rumors indicate that some of his chosen targets have alleged psychic abilities but that has yet to be proven or disproven. Some paperwork in Jefferson's possession indicate an interest in the paranormal._

_Rachel Amber was Jefferson's latest target and Price's reckless attempt at heroics resulted in both their deaths. Police arrived on the scene not long after Jefferson shot both Amber and Price._

_Eyewitnesses have stated that there was tension between Price and Jefferson ever since he first came to teach at Blackwell._

_"Kari was always so suspicious of him, even downright_ rude _to him." A student who chose to remain anonymous spoke of a Kari Price, which one can assume is a mispronunciation of Chloe Price's name. "Although admittedly, she's rude to everyone. But there was just something about how she reacted to Mr. Jefferson that was more… paranoid than usual. It's crazy that she was actually_ right _."_

_A few other students and one teacher can confirm that there were several incidents of conflict between Price and Jefferson._

_On top of that, police have found pictures and notes in Price's bedroom, indicating that she and Amber were conducting a crude amateur investigation of Jefferson._

Trembling, Max couldn't get herself to continue reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I more or less have a personal rule/challenge to refrain from labeling flashbacks, kinda just trusting the reader and my storytelling to make it clear that a particular scene is happening in a different timeline or a different location. Let me know though if there are points where it's not clear.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK MY FRIENDS!
> 
> To preface, I'm gonna just say that I'm sorry for the looooong wait. A lot of things happened in the past couple of months. January I flew over to visit my lady for our fourth anniversary. January and Feb were focused on working on a new comic together with my friend. March... I got dumped. And it sucked like HELL. April was the launch of the comic so I was mostly focused on that. Then I wanted to wrap up my other fic (the one this spins off from) before really focusing on this.
> 
> AND NOW I CAN PUT MORE ATTENTION TO THIS. (On top of day job and the comic of course. But yeah. I thiiink I should be able to update this more often if y'all are still willing to read it)
> 
> Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but I'm back now and I think I have a more solid idea for the foundation of this story. As for where it'll go, I'm not completely sure yet but it's... taking shape. Gradually. Anywayyyy enjoy!

Fire from the explosion heated up her face. Shards and debris protruded from her arm. Pain radiated around her twisted wrist and blood seeped from her skin.

Dad was calling her name.

"Chloe."

His voice was coming from all around her.

"Chloe!"

That didn't make sense. His voice was coming from right in front of her but she had just seen his car completely totaled by the tanker.

"Dad?" Chloe felt her voice come out gravelly and barely audible.

"Chloe, wake up already!"

Eyes snapping open, Chloe scrambled up into a sitting position. "Jesus.  _Fuck_." She did  _not_  just say Dad out loud to stepdouche, did she? Fuck. Shit.  _Fuck_.

"It's noon." David's tone was gruff as he drew the curtains and opened the lights. "And we agreed you'd go to the gym this weekend."

"I don't remember agreeing to that." Groaning, Chloe rolled onto her stomach and hid her head under her pillow. Noon meant she hardly had any sleep yet. A Saturday of sleep was higher up on Chloe's list of priorities than working out.

The pillow was yanked out of Chloe's grasp. "You agreed to  _buff up_  this weekend." Using Chloe's own words against her, David kept the pillow out of reach when she tried to snatch it back. "And I think I should go with you."

"But why?" Chloe tried to glare at David but it didn't feel particularly convincing when her eyes were still bleary.

"For one thing, to make sure you actually do  _something_  other than sit around looking at your phone." David said, "For another, it's so I can teach you your first technique for how to handle a difficult subject."

Rubbing at her eyes, Chloe groaned again.

She wanted to snap at him and throw in some verbal jabs, but it was too damn early and Chloe's brain wasn't fully functioning yet.

Not to mention the fact that Mom was probably going to find out if Chloe was too hard on stepdouche.

"Fine." Chloe sighed.

As her mind started to focus in on the breakdown just a few hours ago, Chloe added, "But I'm going somewhere at five."

David raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"Jeez, get off my case." Chloe forced herself out of bed and approached her closet, refusing to look at David. "And get out of my room while you're at it."

"You're not going to some bar, are you?"

"It's fucking coffee!" Chloe turned to face him. "I'm meeting some friend from Blackwell for coffee. Just fuck off, okay?"

David stood his ground, folding his arms across his chest. "The poorly hidden bottles of alcohol in this room give me reason to doubt that." He looked towards the door before lowering his voice, whispering biting words through gritted teeth. "You can't do this to your mother again."

The barbed words hit Chloe hard, piercing her and making her legs buckle. She leaned against the wall to steady herself. Heat rushed to her eyes and a lump formed in her throat.

Shaking her head, Chloe kept her eyes on the ground. "I'm… I'm not." The protest came off soft and broken.

"The only reason I haven't told her about the bottles I find in your room or in the trash is-"

"I know!" Chloe shouted the words before catching herself and lowering her voice. "I know. I got it. Just… just let me figure this out."

David arms dropped to his sides and he sighed. For a moment, he looked less rough and hard, more old and tired. "Just think about her. I know you don't give a shit about me, but  _think about her._ "

"I know." Chloe returned her gaze to the floor, blinking and wishing her eyes would stop watering and her throat would stop tightening up. "I know."

With heavy footsteps, David headed for the door. "If you say your meetup is just for coffee, then I'm going to believe you for now."

Surprised, Chloe looked up.

David's eyes locked on hers. "But if I find out that you're at a bar or in some alley getting your hands on drugs, then we are going to be having a very difficult conversation with your mother and your therapist."

"Got it."

"You have twenty minutes to get ready. I'll meet you in the car."

* * *

Staring up at the ceiling, Max tried to close her eyes, but every time she did, she saw Chloe and how broken she looked. There was a hollowness to her, hidden under the tough front she was so fond of putting forth. In her eyes there was pain. Especially when she brought up the crash.

The crash that happened in one of the last realities Max was part of. The crash that took William away from Chloe. The crash that took  _everything_  away from Chloe.

But where could Rachel be? How did she fit into all of this? Where was she in this universe? Could she still have made a connection with Chloe and eased her pain? At least for a while?

Still, the worst of it all was knowing that Chloe had been so utterly broken by this universe that it sounded like she actively tried to remove herself from it. Somehow, she failed, somehow she was still alive. Somehow, she was still here and now.

For that, Max was grateful.

And yet, it was painful to see Chloe still so broken and unhappy.

And there was nothing Max could do about it. Max was a prisoner here. A number hanging from her door and a number stitched to the chest of her flimsy gown. A test subject with no name or agency. Just a number and a pair of glowing cuffs.

The sound of the door swinging open startled Max, but she was quick to move into position, facing the wall and putting her hands behind her back. A hand roughly grasped her shoulder and pressed her against the wall, pinning her still as her ability-blocking cuffs were chained together. It was "for extra security" as they'd once told her several years ago.

That may be part of it, but it also just felt like a painful reminder of how impossible it would be to even attempt an escape. They had all the cards and all the control. Max was merely their property.

"Move, 219." The hand on her shoulder pulled her away from the wall and shoved her forwards. She stumbled but was able to regain her footing and walk forward, through the cell door and down the hallway, surrounded by armed guards.

They were marching her along faster than they normally would and the urgency with which she was brought into the testing room was actually starting to make Max more nervous than was usual. She almost stumbled again when she was jostled towards the usual chair and the way they wrenched her hands into place on the armrests made her shoulders burn.

Assistants put the scanners all over her head in such a hurry, Max felt like they'd yanked out clumps of her hair in the process.

"Would it kill you to be a little gentler?" Max hissed as she felt another tug at her hair.

"Too much of that hair is in the way." The assistant grumbled as he roughly put more scanners into place.

"Perhaps we should consider giving you another shave." Dr. Jefferson glanced her way. "It's been far too long since your last one."

Max clenched her jaw to bite back any retorts. The last time they'd shaved her head to be able to put in scanners was probably several months ago, considering how much longer her hair was now. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it felt like something she wished she could hang on to.

After they took away everything from her… after they took away her agency, her name, her very sense of humanity, the least she could be allowed to keep was some hair.

But begging would get her nowhere, so silence was the best response she could give.

Raising an eyebrow at her, Dr. Jefferson seemed to notice the lack of response, before he turned to face the monitors.

"I'd like to direct your attention to the screen, 219."

It was a news report of a roadside accident. Two vehicles collided at an intersection. One of them looked like a minivan. The report talked of there being people who died of their injuries because authorities failed to arrive on time.

Seeing the destroyed cars reminded Max of the accident with William.

Closing her eyes, she kept her head down. "I don't want to see this." Her voice shook and she tried to swallow away the tightness in her throat.

"You have to see this, 219." Dr. Jefferson's voice came from uncomfortably close and as Max's eyes snapped open she felt fingers grasp her clumped hair in a tight fist. He tilted her head up, forcing her to look at him. "Because you're going to be doing something interesting for me."

Words like that were never a good sign.

Despite her discomfort, Max hardened her glare and bared her teeth. "And what would that be?"

"I want you to wind back time to before the accident so we can send an emergency response unit there on time or earlier."

Max blinked.

"Really?"

"This isn't a time for jokes, 219. I'm serious." Dr. Jefferson let go of her hair and gestured to the other staff. "We're trying to save lives here. We want to make some good use of those abilities of yours."

It felt like the storm all over again. They had forced her to wind back and freeze time to ensure there would be no loss of life, but such a feat had taken a great toll on Max. It was days before she came to and probably weeks before the headaches subsided and she regained any semblance of use of her powers.

Since then, they stuck to minor tests.

This didn't exactly classify as a minor test.

"But that means winding back really far." Max said, this time trying to sound as cooperative as possible. The warning way the guards held their batons and prods reminded her of the futility of fighting. "How long ago did the accident happen?"

"Roughly an hour." Dr. Jefferson answered. "We've made further modifications to our technologies. You should be able to reverse time without much interference from the cuffs as long as you're in this room."

Max didn't feel ready for the pain such an effort would cause, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice.

Gritting her teeth, she looked down at her hands. The cuffs were red now. Deactivated.

"Okay." The headache started as a dull throb, at first an annoyance at the back of her skull. It grew into a painful pounding through her temples and a stabbing agony through the forehead, right between the eyes.

From the monitors, she could see movement as the crowd around the accident dispersed.

The pain was reaching a level that made her want to tear her own hair out.

Smoke billowing from the accident retreated back into the car hoods just before the cars started to inch away from each other.

It was becoming unbearable. Her skull was caving into itself and her brain was going to explode.

She just had to hold on.

Dr. Jefferson was speaking into a radio. A specialized vehicle with the PRIPS logo was already making its way to the scene.

It was agony.

The room was fading in and out of focus. Darkness was eating at the edges of her vision.

Just as she felt the world slipping away, Max saw Dr. Jefferson's lips moving along to words that sounded far too distant to actually be spoken right in front of her.

"Well done, 219."

* * *

The workout session with David was admittedly not as bad as Chloe feared it would be. Running on the treadmill sucked of course. The breathlessness was not fun. Lifting a few weights was okay and Chloe found herself liking the idea of earning some guns if she kept it up.

After that, David showed her a few simple techniques to redirect a blow before restraining an attacker. Doing them with David was awkward, but once Chloe got past the initial discomfort of it, she kind of enjoyed it.

Kind of.

 _Almost_.

Chloe wasn't ready to admit she enjoyed any kind of time spent with stepdick.

Rubbing her shoulders and stiffly walking into the coffeeshop, Chloe couldn't help but wonder how she was going to be able to survive tomorrow when she was already feeling sore as fuck as early as now.

"Chloe!" The voice that Chloe was begrudgingly starting to consider as familiar came from the sofa seats further down. "Over here!"

Catching sight of Dana and her auburn hair high in its usual ponytail, Chloe approached her, only to be caught off guard to see Juliet Watson next to her.

"What's she doing here?" Chloe demanded, this time not hesitating to use her most biting tone.

"Chloe, it's okay." Dana lifted her palms in a placating gesture as she stood up. "She's working on the PRIPS case with me. We're developing our reports together. She's the one who first thought of investigating that institute."

"Oh yeah? If bad shit is happening to the subjects, are you going to write an article about how it's their fault they're in there?" Chloe locked her eyes on Juliet and leaned forward. "Are you going to harass me with more questions about their dangerous power?"

"Chloe, I don't want to fight about this." Juliet's green eyes were difficult to read, but she almost sounded sincere. "The angle I took with that article wasn't as objective as I'd originally thought it to be. I gave too much credit to the Prescotts and I know that part of the power their facility has now is a result of my reports."

"You fucking  _used_  me." Chloe hadn't forgotten how Juliet had sounded sympathetic when she asked questions after the storm. How she asked questions about… about  _Rachel_. How even if Juliet mentioned this was for an article, she manipulated Chloe into feeling like she was actually talking to someone who gave a fuck.

"You know what?" Chloe turned to point a finger at Dana. "You're both here to just fucking use me. Whatever bullshit dreams of fame you want to gain from writing bullshit about the subjects," Shaking her head, Chloe lifted her middle fingers and started to take steps backwards. "I'm having none of this shit. Fuck you both."

She turned and started to walk back towards the door.

"Chloe, wait!" Dana moved in front of Chloe, blocking her way to the door.

Glaring at Dana, Chloe spoke in a low, threatening tone. " _Move_."

"Just hear us out!"

Gritting her teeth, Chloe folded her arms across her chest and seriously contemplated using one of the moves David just taught her earlier today. "Are you going to make a habit of blocking my way when I want to leave?"

Dana flashed a sheepish smile. "I hope not?"

What good would a physical fight in a coffeeshop do?

Looking around, Chloe could see people already staring at her. Juliet was close by but keeping a safe distance.

With a sigh, Chloe let her hands drop to her sides. Nothing was worth making a scene and turning this into a public fight. Forcing herself to calm down and speak in an even tone, Chloe said, "What do you even want from me?"

Before Dana could open her mouth, Chloe pointed a finger at her, "And I don't want to hear more bullshit about wanting to help the subjects. You two have something to gain from this and I want to know what it is."

"Did you read up on Baelfire like I told you to?"

"Not really."

"Chloe." Juliet dared to speak as she made her way closer to Chloe, but still keeping a safe distance. "What I wrote before, that was a mistake. I was wrong and I think… I think doing this… tackling this issue… I think it'll right some of the wrongs."

Chloe looked from Juliet to Dana and back.

"It won't fix everything of course." Juliet admitted, "But it's a start, right?"

"We're making a scene." Chloe said, glaring at people who accidentally made eye contact with her. "It's not safe to talk about this shit here. I'm not going to risk my job for you two and whatever redemption you're trying to find."

"What about  _her_?" Dana whispered, moving closer to Chloe. "What about Max? You want to help her out of there, don't you?"

"I still don't know if that's really her." Chloe kept her voice low, hoping nobody would overhear. "But if it is… if that's  _really_  Max…"

Chloe wasn't sure if she would be able to accept the gravity of such a reality.

"…I owe her."

The memory still haunted Chloe. She could still see Max, back when they were practically still kids… see how she was suddenly bleeding, pressing a hand against her stomach and looking horrifyingly pale. How her legs buckled under her. How she clung to Chloe. How there were tears in her eyes as she said Chloe's name.

And still, she managed to kick Chloe out of the car, moments before the crash.

 _Fuck_.

Eyes watering, Chloe shook her head and heard her voice break as she said, "I  _owe_ her."

"Then help us." Dana said. "We'll figure something out."

"Not here." Chloe took a breath and let it out in a shaky sigh. "Has to be somewhere private."

"We can talk at my place." Juliet offered. "Maybe another day?"

Chloe glared at Juliet. "I'm still pissed at you. You killed Rachel's name. I don't know how you managed to look me in the eye that day and say that you'd tell the truth only for you to write about how it was all her fault and the fucking Prescotts saved the town."

Juliet was quiet, unable to meet Chloe's eyes.

"Give me time to figure things out a bit more." Chloe nudged her way past them. The pains of her past were making her chest hurt. First she lost Max. Then Rachel. And soon… soon, Mom could be next.

And yet… if Max was the subject in there… If Max was a prisoner in the Prescotts' mad scientist dungeon? Chloe couldn't in good conscience leave Max to rot in that cell, in those cuffs.

"Maybe I'll meet you two again next week. Text me the place."

Not wanting them to see how bad her hands were shaking and how watery her eyes were getting, Chloe shouldered her way through and headed straight for her truck.

* * *

The beep of heart monitors was the first thing Max became aware of, followed by the headache splitting her skull and the thirst burning her throat.

A low moan escaped her peeling lips as she tried to shift her position, only to realize she was strapped down, with her wrist cuffs chained to the bed and straps across her chest, waist and thighs.

With her heart picking up its pace, Max heard the heart monitors beep erraticly.

They weren't going to run more tests on her, were they?

She was spent. Drained and exhausted and probably nowhere near capable of using her abilities again.

As she turned her head to try to look around the room, she suddenly felt aware of how the metal surface beneath her felt against her head.

How her scalp felt exposed, barely covered by closely cropped hair.

"Shit." Max breathed out, leaning her head back and resigning herself to whatever fate had in store for her now.

"You're awake."

Startled by the female voice, Max strained her neck to look for the source of the voice.

One of the female scientists came into view, positioned just behind Max's head. She looked down at Max and reached for her arm.

Gripped by a surge of panic, Max tried to jerk away, only to be stopped by the restraints. Her heart beat painfully against her chest as she strained to move out of reach. The straps cut into her and the machines beeped louder.

"Sssh, it's okay, dear." The woman touched Max's head, stroking the brutally short strands. "Try to calm down. No more experiments today."

At this news, Max stopped struggling.

Blinking and realizing she'd shed tears without meaning to, Max forced her body to relax, forced the tension in her muscles to ease and the panic in her chest to subside. No more experiments today. News like that shouldn't have made her feel so happy and relieved.

But this was her life now, wasn't it?

"You promise?" Max hated how soft her voice sounded, how almost childish the question felt.

The woman, who Max now recognized to be Dr. Grant, moved more towards Max's side and clasped her hand. "I promise."

Though her heart still beat rapidly, painfully, Max swallowed back her fear and noded. "Okay."

"He won't be seeing you for a while." There was sorrow and regret in Dr. Grant's eyes as she spoke. "I'm sorry about earlier, 219. But you're safe for now. He won't be seeing you until you're cleared to have recovered from the last test."

Looking away from Dr. Grant, Max chose not to respond.

"The interns are reaching the end of their program." Dr. Grant tried to make small talk as she checked on Max's vitals. "I believe a few of them will be cleared to interact with you when you're feeling better. Might not be so bad to see some new faces, right?"

Not when she was at the mercy of whoever was assigned to run tests on her. Not when it was impossible to tell if those new faces would be gentle or merciless until Max was restrained and left with no choice but to take whatever was coming to her. Not when those new faces tended to see her as less than human. As nothing more than a labrat with a number.

"Hold still, I'll just take a blood sample." Dr. Grant gave Max time to brace herself and look away before the needle went in. "At the very least, you'll have a bit of a break to recover." From the softening tone to Dr. Grant's voice, she was realizing that Max just wasn't in the mood for small talk.

Max just wanted to be alone so she could sleep.

At least in the darkness and privacy of her room, she could think about the memories she still held of being with Chloe before the storm ruined everything. Of seeing Chloe so happy and loved. Of going on those stupid adventures and crude investigations. Of being being Partners in Time. Those moments that Chloe had promised would always be  _theirs_.

Even if now… it seemed those moments were only Max's.

Chloe's reality was something else entirely.

* * *

Looking at her reflection, Chloe could see the bags under her eyes. That could be attributed to her nightmares or to the fucked up sleep schedule she had to deal with because of the night shift. Not to mention the crying session se ended up having in the truck just a while ago.

Everything was just so fucked up.

Chloe needed to talk to that subject one more time to figure out if she could really be Max.

But that was a worry for another day.

Now… Chloe had something else to do.

She had an agreement with David. He wouldn't tell Mom about the drinking as long as she cooperated with him at work and showed that she was putting in actual effort to shape up.

And Mom… she wanted Chloe to do well at work and finally fucking shape up and grow up.

With a sigh, Chloe prepared herself, mentally and emotionally, to dye her hair back to as close a color as she could find to her natural hair. This shouldn't be such a big deal.

It was just hair after all, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked closing with an almost parallel theme here, where both girls have their hair changed to remind them of their place in this universe.
> 
> ALSO I HINTED AT MORE THINGS TO BE REVEALED. I'm also planning the roles of the other characters and how they will come into play. Just gotta nail things down then see how they fit into place.
> 
> Either way, what are your thoughts and theories? What happened to Rachel? Will Chloe and Max be able to talk again without being interrupted? How will being moved to the dayshift play out for Chloe? Juicy things to consider as we prep for the next chapter, which I hope to be able to post in a week or two.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short chapter today but I got excited and wanted to post it already. Plus I'll be out of town this weekend and won't really be able to update before my trip. (unless I'm struck by madness and manage to finish chapter eight in two days? [hint hint your feedback tends to trigger said madness] )
> 
> Things are a bit slow for now, but I think they'll start to pick up as more and more characters get involved and as Chloe pushes back against her denial.
> 
> (also if you need to you can read back to chapter five since the flashback we closed at in that chapter will continue in this one)

_FLASHBACK; ALTERNATE TIMELINE_

* * *

_TWO STUDENTS SHOT DEAD_

The headline continued to swim through Max's mind as she sat in a cab on the way to Blackwell. Hopefully in this universe, she was still a student there. Hopefully, there was another way to figure this out.

Chloe was gone.  _Again_. She confronted and antagonized Jefferson because of Max's warning, and now both Chloe and Rachel were dead.

There had to be another way. Max had to figure it out and find it. Her head felt heavy with the strain of using her abilities far more than she'd ever used them before and her body was sluggish with exhaustion.

But Max wasn't going to give up. She wasn't going to stop until she found a way to save  _everyone_. A stupid choice between Chloe and Arcadia Bay couldn't be the only way things were supposed to end.

There  _had_  to be another way.

As the cab pulled to a stop and Max pushed more money than necessary into his hands, she resolved to find another picture she could focus into. Maybe one where Max could be the one to warn authorities about Jefferson, where Chloe wouldn't have to suffer as the only one who knew something was wrong with him.

Making her way to the dorms, Max was interrupted by Victoria, whose warm greeting was as off-putting as it was in a previous timeline. "How are you? Have you heard about Kari Price? I think you mentioned being her friend when you were kids?"

"Not now, Victoria." Max didn't have time for pleasantries and there was no need to dwell on Victoria's hurt feelings. There were bigger things to consider.

Another interruption came in the form of a girl with a beanie practically shoving a flyer in Max's face and she was about to push it away when the headline caught her eye.

_JOIN THE PSYCHICS CLUB TODAY_

Frowning, Max took the flyer to give it another look.

"This isn't a joke, I promise." The girl, who Max recognized now as Steph, started to explain the goals of the club. "I know Mr. Jefferson was rumored to be taking photos of people believed to be psychics, but this isn't about exploiting psychics."

Mentions of psychics in this timeline was definitely unusual. Was it related to the changes she'd been making?

"We just want to be able to get together and feel safe. Build a community, you know?"

"Thanks, Steph." Max flashed as polite a smile as she could manage despite the rising inner turmoil. "I'll check this out later."

Continuing on her way to the dorms, Max had just about entered the girls' building when Dana came into view. "Max, can we talk?"

Too many things were popping up. Max needed to get to her room and think about how to fix this. She didn't have anymore time for more interruptions. There was no way Max was going to allow this universe to remain a reality, so she didn't have to dwell on the people trying to interact with her.

"I talked to her, Max." Dana seemed to realize Max was thinking of a way to squirm away from a conversation. Just jumping right into it effectively captured Max's attention. "I talked to Chloe."

Max frowned. "What?"

"Before... before she went into that bunker." That was when Max noticed that Dana's tone was somber and her eyes looked bloodshot from lack of sleep or from crying or a combination thereof. "She told me where to find a flashdrive. It's where she saved a lot of her research on Mr. Jefferson. She said Juliet and I could break the story if anything happened to her and Rachel."

The snooping... the crude investigation... Chloe did that all without Max. If she did it with anyone, it was probably with Rachel. They played a dangerous game and paid the price.

"When I asked Chloe why she was so suspicious of Jefferson, she said it was because of something you told her. You warned her about it when you were younger." Dana continued.

"From when you were still friends."

Legs trembling, Max had to lean against the wall to steady herself while the hallway around her seemed to swim in and out of focus. This was a mess and it was all because Max planted fear and paranoia in Chloe at too young an age. Somehow it stuck with her but instead of staying away, she seemed to have been driven to expose him instead.

"What happened between you two?" Dana asked. "Chloe said you used to be very close. But when you came back and she tried talking to you about Jefferson, none of it seemed to click with you."

Warmth building behind her eyes accompanied her blurring vision. The urge to cry accompanied a tightening in her chest but she fought it back. She couldn't break down now.

"She said you chose Jefferson and she chose Rachel."

" _Fuck_." Max couldn't stand any more of this. She couldn't continue to allow this timeline to remain a reality.

_She had to fix this._

"Max, can we-"

"Leave me alone, Dana." Max walked past her. "I need to figure this out."

It seemed like an eternity before Max was finally in the safety and privacy of her room.

* * *

_PRESENT_

* * *

"As explained in the handbook, you're not to interfere with any of the tests being run by the scientists." David paced a portion of the parking lot they'd delegated for tonight's briefing and training session. "At best, you should just stand to the side and pay close attention to the subject's behavior and to the scientists' instructions."

"Don't interrupt the tests or make any moves without orders." It physically pained Chloe to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she summarized David's points. "Got it."

David nodded. "Good. There may come a time when you might have to take action for the safety of both subject and scientist. A few scientists here have been known to get way too fixated on their experiments and it puts themselves or their subjects at risk."

Something about that unnerved Chloe.

Even if she hadn't yet stood as witness to any actual tests, she still hadn't forgotten how bruised and starved Subject 219 looked the last time Chloe saw her. There was just something very wrong about how broken the girl looked. How she almost didn't look human anymore.

And the way Zachary Riggins barked orders at her, even threatening to cuff her to her bed?

That felt wrong.

Now, knowing there were scientists here who were willing to push their little lab rats to dangerous levels?

The more time Chloe spent thinking about this job, the less she felt like it was a good idea.

But what other choice did she have?

"Now if that happens, a guard may interfere." David continued. "But that's only under very specific circumstances and you, as a trainee, are not to interfere at all. You have no clearance or training to interrupt a test. Do you understand?"

Swallowing the bile rising to her throat, Chloe forced herself to nod.

David seemed impressed by the fact that Chloe hadn't said anything snarky for nearly half an hour. "Good. Now usually, scientists work with assistants who know some of the basic techniques for restraining a subject if one gets unruly. Their main focus though is mostly to just manage and monitor the equipment and otherwise help the scientists."

Chloe nodded to show she was still paying attention even if her focus wasn't really on him.

The disaster of a meetup with Dana and Juliet still weighed heavily in Chloe's mind.

No matter how much they tried to convince Chloe that they were in it for the principle of helping the subjects, they still stood to gain a great deal of credit and prestige once the story broke.

On top of that was still the fact that the last time Chloe trusted Juliet with a story, it blew up into a mess.

"Your job as a guard is to ensure the safety of all involved." David continued, "You'll also be expected to transport subjects and restrain them if needed."

The more Chloe heard of all these rules for how to deal with the subjects, the more it felt like the subjects were prisoners here. They were lab rats, actually. Trapped in their cells and escorted to their tests like criminals being moved around.

"Okay." Chloe mumbled, keeping her eyes down.

"What's wrong?" David's voice was gruff yet awkward. He sounded almost like he was genuinely trying to show concern but didn't know how.

"Nothing."

"You're not hungover, are you?"

Chloe bristled. "No! I'm fine!"

Granted, she drank heavily after the meetup with Juliet and Dana. The bottle was pretty much empty now and Chloe was going to have to get more at the next opportunity.

But she could handle her alcohol and she wasn't the slightest bit hungover tonight.

David huffed. "If you say so."

"You said there were subjects you wanted to talk to me about." Chloe hoped one of those was 219. Hopefully David could shed light on that point of confusion.

"Maybe another time." David said.

"Why not now?"

David's jaw clenched. "Because your training doesn't need to involve that just yet."

"Is it about  _219_?" Chloe took a step forward. "Is there something you want to tell me about her?"

Shaking his head, David spoke softly and avoided Chloe's gaze. "There are just things she seems to know that she shouldn't. Let's talk about this later. After your shift. I promise."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Chloe said, "But her powers are screwing with time, not reading minds, right? Or casting illusions?"

"Chloe, just drop it." David's tone was a low warning now. "It's time for us to go over some techniques if you encounter an unruly subject."

"Most of them are in bed this time around anyway, it can't be that urgent!"

David ran a hand through his hair and sighed audibly before speaking again, "Chloe, this is in preparation for your move to the dayshift. Your mother is already up my ass about you not coping well with the graveyard shift. She can tell how fucked up you are."

This response forced Chloe to pause.

"I'm pretty sure she suspects the drinking but doesn't want to face it."

Chloe looked down, this time unable to meet his eyes. She wasn't ready to dwell on Mom's condition or how such a heavy burden of stress could deeply affect her health.

"Can you please just work with me here?" David's voice softened now. "We're both doing this for her, remember?"

In an unsteady voice, Chloe admitted what she hated having to. "You're right."

"Right." David shifted his stance. "I'm going to come at you and I want you to subdue me. Bring out the electric prod and practice the motion of directing it at me."

"Oooh." Taking advantage of the shift in topic, she tried for a shift in mood. "Can I-"

"No, you may  _not_  taze me."

Rolling her eyes, Chloe moved into position. "Buzzkill."

* * *

_FLASHBACK; ALTERNATE TIMELINE_

* * *

Looking at her photo wall, Max forced her ragged gasps to deepen into more even breaths.

She had to be calm for this. She had to be in control. She had to be focused.

There weren't any pictures with Chloe since apparently, in this reality, Max was part of the Vortex Club and on good speaking terms with Victoria, even Nathan. There were more than enough pictures of the three of them laughing together, even drinking together.

It had to be farther back.

Max picked out an old selfie from Seattle. It was around the time she'd decided to go back to Arcadia Bay since she'd heard that Mr. Jefferson was teaching there.

If she did this from a distance, maybe it wouldn't be traced back to Chloe.

Focusing on the picture, Max felt the throbbing pain in her head increase to a nearly unbearable level. She'd been overusing her abilities. Max knew she was nearing her very limits, but she couldn't just stop now.

By the time she found herself in her old bedroom in Seattle, she wanted nothing more than to lie in bed and pass out.

But that wouldn't fix anything.

Max had to fix  _everything_.

Grabbing her phone, Max dialed 911.

The operator picked up before the first ring was even over.

"Hi, I'd like to…" What was she going to say? How could she sound convincing? "I'd like to place an anonymous tip."

"Regarding what, ma'am?"

"Mark Jefferson." Max couldn't help but shiver as the name worked its way past her lips. How could she have looked up to him as a hero not so long ago? "He drugs students. I can't give a lot of details but…"

How could she give more credibility to this report?

"…but I know it's happened to my friends. They don't remember much of what he does while they're drugged."

"Would you be able to give us more information?" The operator asked, "This is a serious accusation and-"

"Mark Jefferson teaches at Blackwell in Arcadia Bay. Please look into it." Max hung up before the operator could ask more questions.

Hopefully the urgency and fear in her voice was going to be enough to convince him. Hopefully they would look into it before Chloe or Rachel ever tried to do anything stupid. Hopefully that call would be enough to save them. Hopefully  _things would be okay._

Max needed things to be okay after this.

As she felt herself being pulled back to a new present timeline, Max prayed she wouldn't have to make any more changes.

* * *

_PRESENT_

* * *

It took several tries before David was satisfied with Chloe being able to respond to an attacker charging at her. After that they went over some basic rules regarding use of their standard equipment. Some guards carried guns but Chloe wasn't cleared for that yet so her focus was to get familiar with the electric prod, which was longer than a tazer and made it easier for a guard to subdue a subject from a farther distance; the flashlight, which was more for guards during the night shift; the baton, which wasn't to be used unless absolutely necessary and David reiterated that Chloe wasn't allowed to use hers until after he'd trained her with its uses; and the handcuffs, which were to be used to subdue targets who wouldn't cooperate.

A few subjects had permanent cuffs that doubled as blockers for their abilities, but some didn't have any such restraints. That was why guards had handcuffs on their person as a precaution.

She felt more like a prison guard than anything else as she began her patrol rounds after being dismissed by David.

Maybe now was as good a time as any to try dropping by 219's cell. Chloe still wanted answers and if even David was unnerved by her, then something was up. If there were things she knew that she wasn't supposed to, then what could that mean?

Chloe didn't think she'd ever feel this eager to talk to her stepdick after shift.

What were the things 219 knew that she wasn't supposed to? What was it about her that bothered David?

As she made her way towards the lower floors with every intention of visiting 219 after the first round of patrolling, Chloe went over possible questions to ask the mysterious subject.

How do you know me? Why do you look like Max? Why do you sound like Max? How did you end up here? How can you really be Max?

And if it was Max…

Since when did you have powers like that?

Shouting jarred Chloe out of her train of thought.

"No more! Leave me alone! I CAN HEAR YOU JUDGING ME!" A panicked woman's voice accompanied what sounded like shattering glass. "He's not as brilliant as you think he is!"

Rushing into the room where the commotion was coming from, Chloe entered just in time to see an intern pressed up against the wall while a subject threw a tantrum, throwing papers in the air, kicking at the equipment and screaming between sobs.

"Stop, stop, STOP!" The subject pounded her fists against her head. "Get out! Stop thinking about Max! Stop thinking about mom! Stop thinking about Jefferson! Stop thinking about alcohol!" Stop STOP  _STOP_!"

The subject lunged for Chloe and without thinking, she sidestepped before pushing the subject, redirecting her charge towards the wall.

A hard thud accompanied the impact before Chloe pinned the subject with one forearm and used the other to cuff her hands together.

She squirmed and struggled, forcing Chloe to trip her and pin her to the ground.

"Hey, take it easy." Chloe's tone came out harsher than intended as she pressed her knee across the subjects back. "I don't want to use the prod. Just calm down, okay?"

The calmer tone Chloe managed to use seemed to work, because the girl stopped struggling and instead allowed herself to be pulled to her knees.

She was sobbing and breathing heavily, but no longer trying to get away.

It made Chloe's chest ache.

The girl looked vaguely familiar.

"What's going on here?" The gruff voice of another guard pulled Chloe's attention away from the weeping subject. "Price, what happened here?"

"I dunno man, she was freaking out and throwing shit around." Chloe stood up and stepped away from the subject. "I…" What was the David way of reporting what happened? "I subdued and restrained her."

The guard looked from Chloe to the subject and back before taking in the state of the room. With a furrowing brow, he turned to the intern. "You okay, Victoria?"

In the panic and urgency of the situation, Chloe hadn't even noticed that the intern was Victoria.

Looking over at her, Chloe could see that Victoria still looked shaken up, but she hid it with narrowed eyes and a lifted chin. "I'm fine. Just take her back to her room."

"Will do." The guard, who Chloe recognized as Logan Robertson, another asshole from school, nodded to Victoria before roughly pulling the subject to her feet and jostling her out the door.

She was still sobbing and seemed to be gasping for breath as she stumbled around.

Shouldn't they be treating her more gently?

Chloe herself felt sick after manhandling the poor girl.

"What happened?" Chloe looked at Victoria.

"I just wanted to put in some extra work." Victoria's explanation was in a biting, clipped tone. "I had clearance for it and filed the paperwork correctly, if that's what you're asking."

A glance at her hands showed that they were still trembling.

Mentally kicking herself, Chloe took a step forward and allowed concern to filter into her words. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Victoria snapped. "Get out of here! I still have to salvage what little I can of my research."

Chloe hesitated.

"Get the fuck out of here before I report you!"

Gritting her teeth and once again resisting the urge to resort to physical violence with the one and only Victoria Chase, Chloe turned and started to walk towards the door.

"A _thank you_  would have been nice." Chloe couldn't stop herself from grumbling as she left the room.

And as she continued to walk down the hallways, it dawned on her that the subject was Kate Marsh. An awkward girl who was quiet for the most part, kept to herself until she suddenly tried to jump off the school building. People in suits were able to stop her and after that, nobody really saw her again.

Apparently, she ended up here.

Chloe couldn't help but wonder who else was here and if it was worth peeking into every cell window.

But as the sick feeling in her stomach set in and the urge to get drunk later started to take its hold, Chloe knew she wasn't ready to sate her curiosity tonight. She wasn't ready to see more gaunt versions of faces she once knew. And just seeing more of the conditions these people lived with might just make Chloe throw up what little she'd eaten.

She was just going to finish her rounds of the upper floors then sit in the locker room on the last half hour of her shift.

Right now, she wanted nothing more than to sit alone and just take this all in.

But there was a job to do.

Breathing in deeply, Chloe braced herself to carry on with her job, no matter how much it unnerved her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried putting in headings to distinguish flashbacks and Max's timehopping from the present day scenes. Are they okay or do I do without them?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL Y'ALL FED MY MADNESS SO THANKS. Here's an update before I go on the beach trip with fam. I might not be able to update so soon after this coz I have a busy week next week, but just throw your feedback at me or you can even bug me on my socials to tell me how much you're itching for more.
> 
> ALSO. There are some very heavy themes in this chapter. We dabble a bit in Chloe's and Kate's suicide attempts as well as the torture of subjects in another facility that Chloe reads about. Just be warned and stay safe, friends.
> 
>  
> 
> [Twitter (stefidelly) ](http://twitter.com/stefidelly)
> 
>  
> 
> Tumblr ([ stefi-delly; ](http://stefi-delly.tumblr.com) [ wolfdogonthemoon; ](wolfdogonthemoon.tumblr.com) [thestefidelly](http://thestefidelly.tumblr.com)) [i keep trying to make a more organized tumblr but i end up yolo-ing then idk anymore so now i have three]
> 
> Discord (stefidelly#0606)

The locker room was quiet when Chloe first sat down, but now it was starting to bustle with activity as the day shift guards started coming in and shuffling through their uniforms and equipment. Their chatter seemed to be a lifetime away and Chloe felt detached from it all.

How could anyone gush about last night's date with the lady when human beings were miserable and trapped within the very walls of this hellhole?

If David was going to move Chloe to the day shift soon, that would mean seeing more of the subjects. Seeing the actual experiments even.

How was she supposed to be able to cope with that? How was she supposed to stand in a corner and just watch without comment or action?

Chloe tried to give herself the benefit of a doubt. Tried to convince herself that the tests can't be too bad. That the scientists were humane. That the tests actually brought some good into this world. That the Prescotts were right when (according to Juliet's article all those years ago) they were using their tests for the safety of Arcadia Bay and that psychics running amok were a danger to society.

Rachel hadn't been a danger.

But deep in her heart, Chloe knew that statement wasn't completely true.

Rachel hadn't exactly been harmless. And her erratic emotions didn't mix well with her powerful abilities.

"Chloe."

Interrupted from her thoughts, Chloe looked up to see David standing over her.

"Let's talk?"

Chloe shrugged. "Sure."

Uninvited, David sat down next to Chloe.

She curled her lip and was about to move away from him but stopped when he spoke. "You're right, I'm concerned about 219."

Looking at David, Chloe raised her eyebrow. "And how she knows shit she shouldn't?"

David nodded. "Exactly."

It was tempting to press David to keep going, berate him for being so slow about giving out the dirty details. But Chloe reigned herself in. The last thing she needed was to agitate him into closing up when he was already just on the verge of shedding some light on 219.

The crowded locker room began to clear as the night shift went home and the day shift began their duties.

"She asked me about you." Even if they were alone, David kept his voice low. "When I first started working here seven years ago, she already knew my name. She'd call me every time I passed by her room."

It bothered Chloe to know 219 was already here seven years ago, and was probably here even longer than that.

If she was really Max, then that meant she was already here as young as fifteen years old.

…and that she survived the crash nine years ago.

"Eventually, I folded and asked her what she wanted." David continued, his voice gruff. "She asked if you were okay."

"What did you say?" Chloe couldn't remember ever being okay. It felt way too long ago. Everything always just kept going downhill for her like the world was out to get her.

"I shook off the question. I think I let slip that you were fine and met a new friend. That was when you started spending time with Rachel Amber." At the mention of the name, David paused, clearly feeling uncomfortable bringing it up.

Thankfully, he shrugged off the tension and pushed forward."After that I avoided talking to 219 and stuck to the protocols of not engaging with the subjects."

Chloe found herself feeling disappointed.

Surely David could see that something was wrong with distancing yourself from the subjects? Or was this just a job he wanted to get done, regardless of any other factors?

Remembering Mom and how she couldn't work at the diner anymore, Chloe had to admit that the more focused they stayed in keeping this facility job, the easier it would be to keep paying the medical bills.

"The fact that she knows about you…" David shook his head. "That really worries me, Chloe."

Stepdouche was right about that.

"To be honest, she's one of the reasons I'm apprehensive about you working here." David admitted. "But it's our only option. So please just be careful? And I know I can't order you not to talk to her because knowing you…"

"Yeah, I'm probably going to talk to her."

David sighed. "Of course you are. Just don't let her get to your head?"

"Any other subjects you want to talk to me about?" Chloe changed the topic, not liking how intimate this conversation was getting.

David seemed put off by the abrupt question, but answered anyway. "Well there are other subjects here you might recognize. People who probably actually knew you from school."

"Yeah, I saw Kate Marsh last night." Chloe said, unable to keep herself from shuddering as she recalled the previous night. "She was really freaking out and I had to use the moves you taught me before she hurt herself or Victoria."

The combined look of shock and pride in David's eyes made Chloe uncomfortable. "Good job, Chloe."

Searching for a barbed response, Chloe came up short and wound up just shrugging and looking away. Pleasing David still felt really gross.

"Steph Gingrich is here too." It was David's turn to uncomfortably redirect the conversation. "And… Nathan Prescott."

"Nathan?" Chloe frowned. "As a scientist or as a lab rat? Why would-"

David lifted his palm to stop any more questions from coming. "I don't know the details and as guards, we're not supposed to. I just know that he's been tested ever since he was a kid and just like everybody else, after…"

He hesitated.

Chloe clenched her teeth and kept her eyes on the floor, knowing what event he was going to mention.

"…after the storm, he was kept as an in-patient."

That storm apparently changed everything for everyone, too.

And Chloe wasn't ready to think about that. She needed a drink and a good long sleep.

"I'm done." Chloe stood up and headed for the changing room without looking back at David.

* * *

_FLASHBACK; ALTERNATE TIMELINE_

* * *

Did it work?

Finding herself back in her dorm room at Blackwell, Max was surprised to see pictures of herself together with Kate and Steph on the photo wall. There was even a group photo where Max and Steph held up a sign that read _PSYCHIC CLUB_.

But where were Chloe and Rachel?

There was another photo on the wall, of what looked like an assembly, with Jefferson speaking to the student body. Squinting at the picture, Max could just barely make out Chloe and Rachel in the crowd.

Taking the picture, Max was about to start searching her room for more clues when she heard a knock on her door.

"Max, are you there?"

"Steph?" Max frowned, still not sure what to make of being Steph's friend in this timeline. And a close friend at that, if the pictures on the wall were any indication.

Opening the door, Max was nearly knocked over by Steph rushing inside, phone in hand. "Have you heard what happened?"

 _No_... Dread filled Max.

In her mind, Max silently prayed, silently  _begged_  for the universe not to bring her more news of another way Chloe died.

Max held her breath. "Heard about what?"

"It's Chloe…" Steph's voice was shaky. "She and Rachel were in a car accident."

"No…" Max felt her stomach twist into knots while her heart sank to the floor and her legs threatened to buckle underneath her. "Please tell me they're alive."

The unshed tears in Steph's eyes broke Max's heart as the reality set in for what felt like the millionth time.

Feeling her world shatter all over again, Max half lowered herself, half collapsed onto the side of her bed and pressed her face into her hands. "This can't be real."

"I know you two weren't close lately… but you always talked about being good friends with her when you were younger…" Steph tried to put a hand on Max's shoulder but she shook it off. "She really didn't like Jefferson. She always managed to say something nitpicky about him when I had DnD games with her and Mikey."

Dragging her hands up to her hair and ruffling her fingers into her scalp to release pent up energy, Max groaned out her frustration and pain.

It wasn't over yet.

She had to find another way.

"Jefferson was caught with those photos and those audio logs just last week…" Steph continued to talk. "There's a possibility the crash was arranged by people who were running those tests with him. Honestly, I think the Prescotts are on his side."

" _Shit_." Max stood up and started to pace the room, trying to think of another way they could get this to play out.

"People suspect Chloe had something to do with Jefferson's arrest since we all know how much she antagonized him."

"Steph, I want to be alone right now." Max opened the door with shaky hands. "Please leave."

If in this timeline, Jefferson was not just taking pictures but running weird tests and making audio logs about it, then more and more things about the universe were changing the more Max tampered with time.

Was Max leaving traces of psychic energy with each rewind?

If psychics were becoming more and more of a reality in this universe, Max wasn't sure how many more times she could change things before the universe became completely unrecognizable.

But she couldn't give up yet. Chloe wasn't meant to sacrifice herself for this town and she wasn't meant to die unloved in a bathroom and she wasn't meant to die saving her love in a bunker and she wasn't meant to die in car crash.

Stubbornly clinging to the hope that there was some way to save everyone, Max focused on the picture of the assembly.

* * *

_PRESENT_

* * *

It took a few nights, but Chloe finally steeled her resolve enough to visit the lower floors during her patrol rounds. She had to see who else was in here.

And she had to talk to 219. Chloe was losing too much sleep dwelling on the mystery of whether or not 219 was really the same Max that Chloe used to play around and pretend to be pirates with. If she was really the same kid who saved Chloe from that deadly crash.

Heading down to the lower floors, Chloe took a peak into a random cell, one with the label that read Subject 228.

The person inside was curled up on her bed, facing the wall.

Looking more closely, Chloe could see that her wrists were in glowing cuffs similar to what 219 wore to block her powers. That meant that whoever was in here couldn't play any tricks on Chloe.

But she probably didn't want to talk to anyone either. This was her time to rest, most likely before having to go through more tests tomorrow.

Something about her was familiar though.

Chloe squinted at the glass, taking in the short, reddish hair, almost long enough to count as a pixie cut.

Then she rolled over in bed and Chloe froze at the sight of familiar blue eyes. "Steph?"

Eyes wide and shocked, Steph sat up and gaped.

And Chloe couldn't help but take in the thinness of her face, the hollowness of her cheeks and the way her eyes sank into her skull. She was a shell of the bright and lively person Chloe once knew and their tabletop sessions seemed to be a lifetime ago.

She could still remember the way Steph would cast illusions to complement their games, showing little visual snippets of the characters Chloe and Mikey played. The best part was always when Steph would narrate the defeat of a Big Bad while letting an illusion of the scene play out across their maps and character sheets.

"Chloe?" Steph seemed to finally get over her shock enough to stagger over to the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Guarding you, I guess?" Not Chloe's wittiest response, but given the shock of the situation, it deserved at least a passing mark.

Instead of laughing though, Steph's eyes darkened at the response. Glancing pointedly at Chloe's cap and uniform before glaring directly at her, Steph said, "You're one of  _them_."

"Steph, no, I just-"

"Are you here to pick me up for a new test?" Steph lifted her hands so the cuffs were visible, "Should I face the wall and put my hands behind my back, ma'am?"

This anger had been the last thing Chloe expected and she tried to stutter out an explanation, but no intelligible words came out.

"If not, then leave me the fuck alone." Steph spat, retreating back to her bed.

"Steph, wait-"

"PRICE!" Zachary Riggins' voice startled Chloe as she turned to see him walking over. "The fuck are you doing?"

Recovering quickly enough to respond, Chloe straightened up and said, "Just making my rounds, ensuring subjects are in their beds."

Riggins looked at her suspiciously before glancing through the window, where Steph was already back in bed and facing away from the door. "Looks like everything's in order here."

"Right. Yeah."

"Go another round upstairs then. Logan and I got this floor covered."

And that meant there wasn't going to be an opportunity to talk to 219 tonight.

Swallowing back any protests, reluctantly acknowledging defeat for now, Chloe headed back to the elevator.

There would come a time when she could get even with Riggins for bossing her around. It wasn't going to be today, but Chloe wished it would come sooner. She didn't know how much longer she could fold under him and pretend to be a good little trainee.

* * *

_PRESENT_

* * *

Rubbing at her newly shorn hair, Max sat on her bed with her knees close to her chest and her back against the wall.

Chloe was  _alive_. Chloe was  _safe_.

That was the only consolation Max could find in this universe. The fact that Chloe Price was alive and arguably in better health here than any other timeline Max had seen her.

But at what cost?

Pressing her forehead into her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs, Max thought about the psychics she'd inadvertently created in this world. The rise of this version of the Prescotts where they'd captured every psychic in Arcadia Bay to further their study and theoretically maintain public safety.

_Max?_

Not bothering to lift her head, Max already recognized the presence in her head as Kate's. They were a few cells away from each other but Kate's telepathic ability of reading minds and, if she focused enough, create a mind link, meant they could sometimes converse.

Max could feel the link just hovering at the edge of her consciousness, asking permission to enter.

"Hi Kate." Max allowed the link to take shape, just enough for them to be able to read each others' surface thoughts.

There registered a low level of amusement at how Max still liked to sometimes reply verbally even if it took less effort to think her responses.

And there was also a heavy sense of sorrow and loneliness. She hated being trapped here but felt like she had nowhere else to go. She found consolation in the fact that she had food and shelter, even if the price meant being experimented on and treated as less than human.

Then she thought of the recent experiment she went through.

Victoria Chase was there. Running some tests, getting frustrated with Kate. Kate couldn't filter out the other thoughts in the hallway. She heard Chloe's turmoil of thoughts about the facility and her mixed feelings about David. She felt Victoria's growing impatience.

And the panic just set in and Kate lost control of herself.

 _I saw Chloe._ Your _Chloe. The one you think about a lot._  Kate walked Max through the memory of being restrained by Chloe. Of how she was harsh at first, before lowering her voice and calmly trying to get Kate to come down from her panic.  _I barely remember her from school. I didn't think she would be the same person you always think about._

"Do you know what happened to her?" Max asked, unable to shake off the hints Chloe dropped the last time they talked. The anger she suddenly showed. The way she was alluding to almost not being alive. "Did she…?"

There was hesitation from Kate. She seemed to be blocking off her thoughts to keep Max from peeking.

" _Kate_." Max needed to know.

 _She did try. Once._  Kate answered, her heart heavy.  _Her stepfather... that head guard, David... He thinks about it sometimes but doesn't dwell on the details. He just gets sucked up in the terror and pain from when he first got the frantic call from his wife._

Max felt her heart break into a million pieces.

Leaning her head back against the wall, she bit her lip and tried to stop the tears from falling.

Chloe… why?

 _I don't know how to answer that, Max_. Kate's sympathy filtered through their link.  _She wasn't thinking strongly about it when she cuffed me. She felt sick of this place though. I could feel her resenting the way they treat us._

Max wiped at her eyes and swallowed through the tightness in her throat.

_Max…_

"Just think about something else." She wanted to dwell on this alone. Wanted to cry about this alone. Wanted to mourn this alone.

Chloe survived and Chloe was alive, but what had she gone through? What pain did she suffer from?

Thinking it over, Max knew Chloe was still convinced that Max died in the car crash together with William. So those were two deaths Chloe was forced to grieve for. Then… whatever happened to Rachel in this universe was probably a point of major pain.

She must feel so alone…

 _Max, I miss my family…_  Kate's clumsy attempt at diverting Max's thoughts was jarring but at least there was something to dwell on instead of spiraling into feeling bad about Chloe. _I mean… I know I'm dead to them and I should let it go but I… I still miss them._

The grief Kate still felt at being abandoned by her family weighed heavily on Max, filling her with guilt.

"Kate, I'm sorry…"

Confusion came through the link.

_For what?_

"I'm the reason you're here, aren't I?" Max thought back to the day Jefferson had her dragged to the testing room and pressured her into winding back to before Kate jumped. It gave Jefferson's men time to stop Kate and bring her here.

And now she was a prisoner.

 _Max, it's not your fault. I don't blame you._  Genuine warmth came from Kate as she sent waves of comfort towards Max.  _I forgive you for that, you know._

Even with the forgiveness, Max still felt buried deep in guilt and despair.

_Besides, my family would have disowned me one way or another. They're convinced my powers are from the devil. That the voices I hear are demons._

Max felt terrible for Kate either way and wished there was some way to make things better.

But trapped here, with no access to her powers unless for tests in a highly controlled, heavily guarded room, Max had no choice but to live with this reality.

After being stuck here for what? Nine years? Max doubted she could leave this reality after sloppily tumbling into it.

_Do you miss your family? I mean the one from your original timeline at least?_

Max clenched her teeth. She didn't want to think about that. That meant thinking back to the first timeline she ever lived with. Thinking back to just being a stupid regular photography student exchanging letters with her parents.

It was a lifetime ago and Max didn't want to dwell on it.

_Do you want me to leave you alone?_

"Yeah." Max wanted to break down in peace.

_Goodbye, Max... I'll talk to you later._

The link wavered before fading away, leaving Max alone with her thoughts and her pains.

Completely, painfully alone.

* * *

_PRESENT_

* * *

The anger in Steph's eyes still burned through Chloe's mind as she got home and made her way up the stairs.

Noticing that Mom's door was ajar, Chloe walked over and gently knocked to announce her prescence.

"Hi, Chloe." Mom's voice was still gravelly from sleep.

"How are you?"

Mom stretched before curling back into position. "Tired. Just going to sleep a bit more."

"Sleep well, Mom." Chloe closed the door slowly and went to her own room. The bottle of booze in her hand suddenly felt too heavy.

Putting it in her cabinet, behind the jackets and button-down shirts, Chloe flopped down onto bed.

She felt lost.

David wanted her to just keep her head down and do her job. Mom wanted her to excel at work. Mom  _needed_  her to excel at work and earn some extra cash because holy  _shit_ , the medical bills.

But how could Chloe just turn a blind eye? She could see how terrified and fucked up Kate was. She could see how thin and angry Steph was. And 219? If that was really Max? She was in terrible shape, too.

How could Chloe just keep her head down and transport them to and from their tests like prisoners?

_You're one of them._

The barbed words still pierced Chloe and she couldn't shake off the way Steph looked at her.

Vibrating in her pocket probably meant another call from Dana.

" _Fucking_  hell." Maybe answering her would stop the calls for a little while. Chloe pressed the phone to her ear. "What?"

"Have you thought about meeting us on your next day off?"

If Chloe were to be honest with herself, she was on the verge of meeting up with Dana and talking through these thoughts with her. But knowing Juliet was part of this was enough to send Chloe running.

"I haven't decided yet."

It was possible that Juliet genuinely changed and really was trying to make things right. But there was no way Chloe could know that for sure and she would rather be suspicious than stupidly trusting.

"Have you looked up Baelfire?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No."

"At least look it up? It might bring you some fresh perspective."

Whatever it took to get Dana to stop calling so Chloe could have some peace to think things over. "Fine. I'll look it up before I sleep. Will you leave me alone for a couple of days?"

"Yes!" Dana sounded too eager.

"Fine. Bye then." Chloe hung up before Dana could protest.

It was tempting to just sleep or even retrieve her hidden bottle, but Chloe had a feeling that if Dana somehow found out Chloe didn't actually look up that facility from Maine, then there would not be an end to the incessant calls.

With a loud groan nobody was meant to hear, Chloe stomped over to her computer and started her search.

Baelfire was a facility headed by lead scientist Dr. Robert Gold. He led a lot of research on psychics and supernaturals, contributing to major developments in both medical and military fields. He was friends with Dr. Aldous Leekie of the DYAD Institute. They collaborated a few times but Gold mostly kept to his own experiments.

Until a bunch of subjects broke out of his facility and were now loose and nobody knew where they were. It sparked debate over whether or not facilities should treat their subjects more humanely. There were also conflicting articles about whether or not psychics and supernaturals posed a danger and should remain in facilities or at least be under heavy monitoring.

But if the subjects of Baelfire Research Center were able to escape successfully, maybe there was a chance that Chloe could somehow get Kate, Steph and Max out of PRIPS? And whoever else Chloe could try to help.

This was assuming she was insane enough to really try busting them out because it was not going to be easy. Especially not while Riggins kept trying to get Chloe to stay away from the lower floors.

As Chloe continued going down the Baelfire rabbit hole, she found videos. A  _lot_  of them. Being uploaded by an anonymous account. Many of them looked like security footage from the facility itself.

Whoever was involved in the subjects' escape must have hacked into the system and released footage of the fucked up conditions the subjects lived with. There was one where Gold had a guard break some girl's arm, forcing her to use her telekinetic abilities to heal herself.

Chloe wanted to look away but instead found herself watching the next video. It was of a scarred up woman with a shaved head being dunked into a tank of water until her eyes glowed unnaturally. She was the one they called a lycanthrope.

There was one where their telepathic subject threw a fit and was roughly subdued by the guards. Another where the lycanthrope was being sliced open to monitor her healing abilities.

And that was when Chloe got to a different video.

They had a woman cuffed to a chair. Her undershirt had blood down the front, most likely from what looked like a broken nose. Gold was questioning her, asking her why she helped the subjects escape. Who helped her? Who planned it? Who else was part of it?

And why she suddenly decided that helping those creatures was worth more than her well-paying job as a guard.

That was when Chloe had to close her browser and lean back against her chair.

There was this huge mess of technicalities regarding public safety and the danger those with strange abilities could pose. Rachel… as much as Chloe hated to admit it… Rachel had been dangerous.

But what troubled Chloe the most was that guard. She turned her back on her boss and helped the subjects escape.

Just like what Chloe was vaguely considering doing.

If at least one company was going so far as to torture a guard for that… (nevermind the legalities of it because these rich people would be getting away with it one way or another, wouldn't they?)… then was Chloe willing to take that risk?

Was Chloe ready to get her face fucked up if she attempted to help the subjects and failed?

And that wasn't even considering yet what the Prescotts could do to  _Mom_.

Now, Chloe couldn't stop herself from heading to her closet and grabbing the vodka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I doubt there's much overlap between the LiS fandom and the Once Upon a Time fandom but if you're intrigued a little bit by Baelfire, you can take a peek at my finished fic, [Subject 204](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10653057/chapters/23573199). It's not required reading tho and any mention of it in this fic more or less gets explained anyway. What happened in that fic kind of sets the stage a bit for this one and also, as shown in this chapter, shows what the stakes are and what potential consequences would look like.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little on the short side but it reveals a little more stuff.
> 
> On a personal note lol I had a great date last night and the lovely lady was interested in a second date so THERE'S THAT and I'm pretty pumped.

_FLASHBACK; CURRENT TIMELINE_

* * *

The music was loud, pounding into her ears while the deep bass sent heavy thuds against her chest.

And it was exhilarating.

With the buzz of alcohol and the thrill of the music, Chloe was in for a night of wild partying. Mom could call all she wanted but Chloe wasn't going to be answering until she was done with having fun. And stepdouche could just suck his own dick as far as Chloe was concerned.

The best part?

This wasn't any regular club. Some of the town's most badass psychics were here. On stage, Firewalk was adding flair to their performance with their powers. A string of sparks here, a puff of smoke there, and their grand finisher- breathing out a burst of fire just above the crowd's heads.

It got Chloe so pumped up, she was jumping along with many other hyped up members of the crowd.

Until she bumped into someone behind her.

"Sorry!" Chloe spun around to see a skeevy guy with a shit ton of tattoos and some tacky piercings. He looked furious as he held a nearly empty beer bottle and sported a drenched shirt that stank of alcohol.

Oops.

"You owe me for that, you little bitch!" The guy reached out, grabbed Chloe by the hoodie and yanked her closer to him.

Reacting on instinct, Chloe brought her knee up, straight into his groin. The guy doubled over and let go, giving Chloe enough time to push her way through the crowd and back into the main lobby area.

There, Frank was chilling on the sofa, looking like he wasn't quite mentally present. Steph was chatting up some girl and showing off her illusion powers.

Just before Chloe could consider which person to approach for help, the skeevy guy's voice called from right behind Chloe. "Fuck you, bitch!"

Turning towards his voice, Chloe found herself reeling from an unexpected blow to the face.

She staggered back, pressing a hand against her throbbing eye. "What the fuck, man?"

They were drawing attention to themselves now. The lobby had fallen silent and the guy was moving closer, not quite done with Chloe.

Fuck.

Gritting her teeth and standing her ground, Chloe lifted her chin to meet his glare. If this was going to turn into a fistfight then at least Chloe could cross that off her bucket list and brag a little about it to Mikey later.

Fuck, who was Chloe kidding? She was going to brag about this  _a lot_  to Mikey.

She smirked. "You planning to hit me again, you ugly-ass fucker?"

The guy's lip curled at her bravado. He must have been expecting some begging and weeping. No way in hell was Chloe going to give that to him.

Steph moved forward towards Chloe, starting to place herself between them. "Why don't you guys just-"

"Shut it!" The guy rounded on Steph's attempt to diffuse the situation, drawing a knife and pointing it at her.

No.

Chloe's every instinct was to take advantage of the distraction and run way, but instead she put herself in front of the guy, blocking his view of Steph. "Hey, your fight's with me, shitface. Lay off her."

He pointed the knife dangerously close to her throat.

A blast of wind coming from literally nowhere knocked the guy to the side.

"What the fuck?" Chloe gaped at the guy. He was literally thrown across the room.

"Let's go!" A hand grasped hers and Chloe blinked to see a beautiful girl looking at her. "Cops are on their way to raid this place."

Still thoroughly in shock, it took Chloe several stuttering attempts to finally gasp out, "R-Rachel?"

"Chloe, come on!" Rachel didn't wait for Chloe to process the situation, instead pulling her through the crowd and out the back door just as sirens filled the air and the flickering red of police lights cast eerie shadows.

* * *

_FLASHBACK; ALTERNATE TIMELINE_

* * *

Focusing into the picture of the school assembly brought Max to a crowd that was now listening to Jefferson on the stage.

"Psychics are becoming more common and it's time for us to really take the time to put study into these anomalies." Jefferson said, "Which is why we're opening a new elective dedicated to learning more about this subject."

From a little Psychic club to now a new elective spearheaded by Jefferson?

Max felt sick to her stomach.

Things were definitely changing with each rewind and she was starting to genuinely fear how unrecognizable the world was going to be if she kept doing this.

But Chloe was still alive here. She and Rachel just needed to be stopped from meddling with Jefferson. They needed to be as far away from him as possible in order to truly be safe.

"If you believe yourself to have psychic ability and wish to further understand yourself and gain better control of what you can do, please volunteer yourself for this program so we can help you." Jefferson continued. "I  _promise_  I can help you. I've spent my life documenting and interviewing people like you."

Working her way through the crowd, Max finally caught sight of Chloe and Rachel whispering to each other.

"Chloe, he can help."

"I'm not sure if I trust him."

"Chloe, I'm scared of hurting people. If there's a way then maybe-" Rachel stopped, realizing Max was there.

Catching sight of their held hands and intertwined fingers shouldn't have sent a bitter pang through Max, but it did. She tried to regain her composure and gather her thoughts.

"What do you want, Max?" Chloe's hostile tone indicated they still weren't friends in this timeline.

"Please promise me you won't go to Jefferson?" Max tried not to let herself get affected by the coldness in Chloe's eyes.

"Why? Do you want to call dibs on him?" At Rachel's laugh, Max had a sinking feeling that she was already set on seeing Jefferson."You don't know what you're talking about, Max."

Not sure if she was reading too much into Rachel's tone, but Max had a feeling that there was a chance Rachel had  _already_  started seeing Jefferson behind Chloe's back.

"Why are you even talking to me now?" Chloe asked. "Last I checked, you made it pretty clear you weren't interested."

"Chloe, I'm-"

Lifting a hand, Chloe shook her head. "Too little, too fucking late, Max."

"Jefferson's dangerous, I'm warning you." Max was starting to feel the pull of the present and began to panic. "He's not going to help with anything you think he'll help with."

The suspicion and hostility in Chloe's eyes seemed to soften. "You warned me about that before. But then I-"

"Just stay away from him!" Max head the desperation in her own voice just as she felt herself being pulled back into the present, most likely into an entirely new timeline.

* * *

_FLASHBACK; CURRENT TIMELINE_

* * *

The tension in the air felt thick and suffocating as Chloe tried to focus on eating despite the knots in her stomach. No matter how good the cooking was, Chloe couldn't even taste it while she felt this uncomfortable. The silence was pressing into her ears while the clatter of utensils and the ticking of the clock seemed to echo throughout the dining room.

"So… Chloe?" Mrs. Amber's voice broke the silence and Chloe wasn't sure if that was or wasn't a good thing. "Are you and Rachel in any of the same classes?"

Chloe shrugged. "Not really."

Wells nearly expelled Chloe and she was ready to take the fall for their stupid little adventure, but Rachel refused to leave Chloe in the dust, insisting and persuading until Wells gave in to giving Chloe one last chance. If only in the hope of letting Rachel's great school performance rub off on Chloe instead of the other way around.

Another uncomfortable silence settled over the table.

"What about that fire?" Mrs. Amber wondered.

Rachel coughed into her glass and struggled to regain her composure enough to stammer out, "Dinner's really good, Mom."

Mrs. Amber smiled. "Thank you, Rachel."

They were quiet again. Chloe tried to keep her thoughts focused on their wild plan of running away after dinner, but the heaviness of the dining room was overpowering.

Seeming to feel it too, Mrs. Amber spoke up. "That fire... the way it spread so fast…" She frowned. "It couldn't have been a purely natural incident."

"They suspect a psychic triggered it." Mr. Amber gave Rachel a pointed look.

Panic in her eyes, Rachel looked to Chloe for help.

"It's… yeah. I wonder why someone would do that." Chloe heard how stupid she sounded as she floundered for something to say. "It's… uh… It's pretty scary."

The flash of hurt in Rachel's eyes made Chloe feel guilty about the honesty that slipped into her comment.

"Any number of reasons." Mr. Amber said, casting another glance at Rachel before returning his attention to his food. "With everything going on in the world today, even a town like Arcadia Bay isn't immune to the ills of society. It's a dangerous world out there."

Mrs. Amber nodded. "Which is why I hope you can be  _very careful,_  Rachel."

Rachel kept her eyes down and her shoulders remained tense.

"Now that you two are friends, I hope you can look out for each other. Especially considering all that's going on lately with the Prescotts and the psychics and the authorities…" Mrs. Amber's eyes showed nothing but worry and a deep love for her daughter. "I hope we don't get caught up in the middle of it."

Mr. Amber reached out and put a hand over his wife's.

Chloe didn't miss the way Rachel glared at it.

"It's imperative, in such troubled times as these, that we remember what is most important to us- family." Mr. Amber said, launching into a tone that Chloe found all too familiar. Some adult ready to give some longwinded sermon about life. "Family is not merely a gift. It's a responsibility."

Rachel's hands were tensing up and Chloe realized the stillness in the air was shifting. A breeze seemed to be coming into the house despite the closed doors and windows.

"As such, those we love must be cared for. And never, ever taken for granted."

Reaching out a hand under the table, Chloe placed it over Rachel's knee, hoping the contact would calm her. "Uh… yeah. That's super true. And also remember, Rachel, that even when shit's like… the lamest ever… you can always run away from what's bothering you."

She alluded to their plan to run away from this hellhole. Rachel was all for it just a moment ago. If Chloe could just keep her calm enough, then they would be out of here in no time.

"As long as you just  _keep calm_." Chloe punctuated the words, looking directly at Rachel.

Rachel looked at her, still tense, still pained, still distraught.

"Interesting philosophy, Chloe…" Mrs. Amber sounded like she was just trying to be polite.

Mr. Amber all but scoffed. "Yes, indeed. Not one that I would endorse, however. I favor confronting my problems head on." He shrugged condescendingly. "But to each their own, I suppose."

"Oh, fucking  _blow me._ " Rachel grumbled, throwing a scathing look at her father before looking back down at dinner.

"Rachel!" Mrs. Amber looked scandalized.

Another heavy silence fell over the table as Mr. Amber looked from his wife to his daughter and back. The look on his face was somewhere between disgusted and perplexed.

Chloe felt her heart pounding against her chest and the tick of the clock seemed louder than ever as Rachel glared at her father, challenging him to say something.

In a panic, Chloe tossed her fork off the table and nudged Rachel. "Ah crap, I'm so clumsy. Rachel, can you come help me find another fork?"

"Stop it, Chloe." Rachel interrupted, then turned to her father. "I can't sit here and listen to this  _bullshit_  anymore."

"Rachel!" Mr. Amber barked.

The breeze seemed to be picking up, not enough to really blow things around, but enough for Chloe to notice how it felt on her skin.

"Stop it, Dad." Rachel snapped back, "You're a hypocrite, okay? I  _know_!"

Mr. Amber's brow furrowed as he shook his head and prepared to defend himself, but Rachel didn't give him a chance.

"You lying, cheating, piece of  _shit_  motherfucker!"

" _Excuse me_?" Anger and shock shone in Mr. Amber's face.

The blowing wind grew stronger, seeming to encircle the table as it blew hair and napkins around.

"Rachel…" Mrs. Amber seemed to notice it too and reached out to try to placate her daughter, but Rachel pulled her hand back and continued to glare at her father.

"We  _saw you!_  Yesterday. At the overlook." Rachel looked to Chloe for backup. She nodded but didn't say anything. This was Rachel's floor and Chloe didn't want to make this any worse than it already was.

Mrs. Amber turned to face her husband. "James?"

" _Kissing_  that woman." Rachel continued.

Mrs. Amber's eyes narrowed. " _James_."

The wind was picking up now, surrounding them.

Despite the anger that showed clearly in his tense shoulders and clenched fists, Mr. Amber kept his voice cool as he focused on calming Rachel down. "Rachel, honey, whatever you saw or  _think_  you saw… I know it's hard, but I need you to trust me."

" _Think_  we saw?" Chloe felt rage course through her and could no longer keep her mouth shut. "Are you trying to  _gaslight_  us? There's no  _thinking_  involved- we saw you locking lips with some other woman."

Going in for the kill, Chloe added, "Best part is, she and I use the same drug dealer!"

"That's enough!" Mr. Amber stood up, no longer able to keep back his own rage now too. "You are  _not_  welcome here or around my daughter any longer. I knew  _exactly_  what kind of person you were from the moment I saw you, and I let my wife's  _compassion_  get the better of me."

"Oh?" Chloe leaned forward. "What kind of person is that?"

"A  _delinquent_." Mr. Amber slammed his palms down on the table. "A broken girl from a broken home."

"That's enough, James!" Surprisingly, Mrs. Amber stood up to face him down. "I will not have you continue to speak to her like this."

The wind grew stronger and the Amber parents seemed to fight against it to stay upright as they argued. Chloe found herself standing up as well, pushing back against the wind as she defended herself and hurled insults without thinking.

"Rachel, shut off your little special effects and go to your room!" Mr. Amber was shouting at Rachel, "Stop them right now!"

"Don't fucking talk to her like that!" Chloe put a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "She can do whatever the fuck she wants."

"I've had it with you!" Mr. Amber jabbed a finger in Chloe's direction. "Get out of my house!"

A powerful burst of wind and energy shattered the table and threw everyone against the wall. Chloe was slammed into the china cabinet and scrambled away just before it toppled forward.

Then the wind stopped and the air was still again.

Rachel stood over her father, who had crashed into the painting and was now crouched on the floor.

"Why can't you just tell me the fucking truth?" Rachel demanded. "Stop lying. Stop being a politician for  _one fucking minute_."

From her position, standing over him, fists clenched, Rachel looked just about ready to send another blast of wind at Mr. Amber. He pressed himself against the wall, looking terrified.

Then Rachel fell to her knees and lowered her head, the weight of everything crashing down on her as she spoke in a broken voice. "Can't you just… be my  _dad_?"

"Rachel…" Mr. Amber tentatively reached a hand over to touch Rachel's shoulder. "That woman you saw… that wasn't my mistress. That was your mother. And she was a psychic too."

* * *

_PRESENT_

* * *

The last few shifts had been uneventful for the most part. More training with David, but not a lot of talking. Chloe avoided it like she avoided the subjects' quarters in the lower floors. She wasn't ready to see anyone's faces just yet and she wasn't ready to discuss 219 or Kate or Steph with David either.

And she hated how it hit her that she had a  _choice_  whether or not she wanted to be down in the lowest floor.  _They_  didn't.

They just lived there, sitting on their beds, waiting for their next test.

Chloe pressed her face into her palms as she sat at the edge of her bed. The idea of somehow setting them free was powerful and threatened to consume her, but the fear of fucking it all up and making things worse for herself and for everyone was just as overbearing.

A knock on her door broke through her thoughts.

Mom peeked in. "You okay, Chloe? You... you seem to be distracted lately."

There was worry and fear in her eyes, and Chloe didn't doubt that Mom still thought about that night four years ago, when she found her daughter lying still and no longer breathing.

"I…" It was tempting to open up, tempting to unload all of the overwhelming thoughts, but Mom wasn't exactly in the best of shape to handle stress. "I'm fine."

The pain in Mom's watery eyes made Chloe feel like a terrible human being. "Please just don't forget that you can talk to me about anything, okay?"

Chloe nodded, looking down at the floor because it hurt too much to look Mom in the eye.

"Keeping things to ourselves and internalizing all the stress and pain is what pushed us all to breaking points and please, Chloe… I don't want a repeat…"

"I know…" Chloe nodded again and forced herself to look at Mom. "I'm… I'm not fine, to be honest. But… but I'm not ready to talk about it just yet. Is that okay?"

Mom nodded, and though she still looked worried, she thankfully chose not to push. "I understand."

She closed the door, leaving Chloe alone with her thoughts once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have outlines for the next chapters but haven't started yet so I might need a little time before I can update but feel free to bug me on my socials.


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